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OLD  AND  NEW  LIGHTS 


ON 


COLUMBUS. 


WITH 

OBSERVATIONS    ON    CONTROVERTED    POINTS    AND 

CRITICISMS. 


BY 

RICHARD   H.    CLARKE,  LL.D. 


RICHARD  H.  CLARKE, 
NEW  YORK, 

1893. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  In  the  Year  1893,  by 

RICHARD  H.   CLARKE, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  ot  Congress,  at  Washington. 


•UftR   PftlMTINQ   HOUSE,    NEW   TOOK. 


TO 


DISCOVERED  BY  COLUMBUS,   LIBERATED   BY  WASHINGTON  ; 

IN  WHICH 

THE  LOVE  OF  LIBERTY  is  ONLY  EQUALLED  BY  THE  LOVE  OF  JUSTICE  ; 
UNION   is   ENHANCED  BY  DIVERSITY, 

AND 
PERPETUATED  BY  THE  LOVE  OF  COUNTRY  ; 

IN  WHICH 

MAN  AND  RELIGION  ARE  FREE  ; 
CIVILIZATION  AND  PROGRESS  CROWNED  BY  THE  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES  ; 

AND 

EQUAL  LAWS  PREVAIL  ; 

THIS  WORK  is  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED 

BY 


PREFACE. 


MUCH  as  has  been  written  of  Columbus,  and  numerous  as  are 
the  works  published  in  regard  to  his  great  discovery,  especially 
during  the  quarto-centennial  celebrations,  there  is  a  widespread 
ignorance  among  the  people  in  regard  to  many  important  points. 
This  may  be  partly  attributable  to  the  want  of  works  in  one 
volume  and  of  convenient  size  ;  but  many  and  serious  miscon 
ceptions  of  events  in  his  life  and  services,  of  his  motives,  of  his 
public  and  private  character,  and  of  important  details,  as  well  as 
of  salient  points  in  his  career,  have  become  widely  circulated  of 
late  by  adverse  criticism  and  hostile  methods  of  treatment.  Not 
a  few  able  pens  and  potent  names  have  been  enlisted  in  unfriendly 
comment,  and  controverted  points  have  been  handled  with  foren 
sic  and  partisan  animosity.  The  spirit  with  which  many  of  these 
phases  of  the  subject  have  been  handled  would  be  worthy  of 
living  controversies  in  which  Columbus  were  now  a  living  par 
ticipant,  or  would  seem  appropriate  to  a  contemporary  public 
trial  in  which  he  were  the  indicted  or  impeached  official  arraigned 
at  the  bar  of  public  justice. 

On  the  other  hand,  excessive  eulogy  and  blind  advocacy,  in 
other  quarters,  have  seemed  to  invite  opposition,  and  it  has  been 
cogently  said  that  the  undue  hostility  to  Columbus,  which  has 
been  manifested  in  recent  publications,  is  the  reaction  which  was 
awakened  by  the  spirit  of  resistance  to  injudicious  and  indis 
criminate  laudation.  These  elements  have  rendered  both  ex 
tremes  unreliable  and  devoid  of  historical  calmness  and  judg 
ment.  A  well-balanced  mind  and  sober  historical  pen — that  of 
Mr.  John  Fiske,  of  Cambridge — has  pronounced  this  reaction 
more  than  energetic — as,  in  fact,  violent.  Hence  it  may  be  said 
that  the  works  of  Count  Roselly  de  Lorgues  and  Justin  Winsor 
have  equally  lost  that  recognition  to  which  industrious  research 
would  otherwise  have  entitled  them.  Of  the  latter,  Mr.  Fiske 
has  justly  said  :  ' '  No  one  can  deny  that  Las  Casas  was  a  keen 


Vl  PREFACE. 

judge  of  men,  and  that  his  standard  of  right  and  wrong  was  quite 
as  lofty  as  any  one  has  reached  in  our  time.  He  had  a  much 
more  intimate  knowledge  of  Columbus  than  any  modern  historian 
can  ever  hope  to  acquire,  and  he  always  speaks  of  him  with 
warm  admiration  and  respect  ;  but  how  could  Las  Casas  ever 
have  respected  the  feeble,  mean-spirited  driveller  whose  portrait 
Mr.  Winsor  asks  us  to  accept  as  that  of  the  discoverer  of 
America?"  The  vast  importance  of  the  discovery  achieved  by 
Columbus,  the  immense  results  and  unparalleled  benefits  result 
ing  from  his  personal  services  to  mankind,  while  not  sufficient  to 
justify  a  travesty  of  history,  should  at  least  make  every  true  man 
just  and  impartial  in  relating  the  history  of  that  discovery  and  of 
those  services.  I  have  aimed  with  honest  purpose  to  place 
myself  with  the  latter  in  the  preparation  of  these  pages,  and  in 
handling  controverted  points  I  have  followed  this  course  ;  but 
when  this  method  resulted  in  a  conviction  that  positive  wrong 
had  been  done  to  Columbus,  as  in  the  charge  that  he  deserted 
his  wife  and  family  when  he  left  Portugal  for  Spain,  and  in  that 
other  more  received  impression  that  Columbus  was  never  mar 
ried  to  Beatrix  Enriquez,  the  mother  of  his  son  and  historian, 
Fernando,  then  I  have  espoused  the  cause  of  truth  and  justice 
with  energy  and  zeal.  On  controverted  points  I  have  endeav 
ored  to  be  exact  and  ample  in  detail,  and  in  order  to  make  the 
work  complete,  have  given  a  full  history  of  the  personal  and 
public  life  and  career  of  Columbus.  In  leading  up  to  him  and 
his  work,  I  have  brought  in  the  voyages  of  the  Northmen  in  the 
tenth  and  succeeding  centuries,  and  have  related  with  greater 
detail  the  expeditions  and  explorations  of  the  Portuguese  on  the 
west  and  southern  coasts  of  Africa,  in  search  of  Southern  Asia. 
I  have  taken  pleasure  in  vindicating  the  great  name  of  Las  Casas 
against  the  common  statement  that  he  was  the  originator  of 
African  slavery  in  America,  and  in  defending  Americus  Ves- 
pucius  against  the  charge  of  having  purposely  robbed  Columbus 
of  the  honor  of  bestowing  his  name  upon  the  new  world  which 
he  discovered.  A  vindication  of  Columbus  seemed  scarcely 
necessary,  even  after  such  adverse  accounts  as  those  of  Harrisse 
and  Winsor,  for  the  latter  have  had  little  effect  on  the  reputation 
and  honor  of  Columbus,  since  he  has  now  received  from  mankind 
and  from  the  nations  of  the  earth,  and  especially  from  our  own 
country,  such  honors  as  have  never  before  been  paid  to  any  man. 


LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  AUTHORS  CONSULT 
ED  IN  THE  PREPARATION  OF  THIS  WORK. 

Fernando  Colombo,  "  Historia  della  Vita  e  dei  Fatti  dell'  Ammiraglio  Don  Cristo- 

foro  Colombo,  suo  padre,"  Venezia,  1686. 
Navarrete,  "  Colleccion  Diplomatica." 

Spotorno,  "  Della  Origine  e  Della  Patria  di  Cristoforo  Colombo." 
Las  Casas,  "  Historia  de  las  Indias." 
Mufloz,  "  Historia  del  Nuovo  Mundo." 

Herrera,  "  General  History  of  the  Voyages  and  Conquests  of  Castilians." 
Oviedo  y  Valdez,  "  Historia  Nat.  y  gen.  de  las  Indias." 
"  Letter  of  Christopher  Columbus  to  their  Majesties." 
Make  Brun,  "Geographic  Universelle." 
Humboldt,  "  Histoire  de  la  Geographic." 
Gomera,  "  Historia  de  las  Indias." 
Feragallo,  "Cristoforo  Colombo  in  Portogallo." 
Humboldt,  "  Cosmos." 

Irving,  "  The  Life  and  Voyages  of  Christopher  Columbus  and  his  Companions." 
Lafitare,  "  Conquetes  Portugais." 
Oviedo,  "  Cronica  de  las  Indias." 

Cura  de  los  Palacios,  MS.,  "  Hist.  Ferdinand  and  Isabella." 
Peter  Martyr,  "  Letters  and  Decades  of  the  Ocean  Sea." 
Charlevoix,  "  Histoire  de  St.  Domingo." 

De  Lorgues,  "  Histoire  de  la  Vie  et  des  Voyages  de  C.  Colomb." 
De  Lorgues,  "  LrAmbassadeur  de  Dieu." 
Mariana,  "  Historia  de  Espafla." 
Ramusio,  "  Della  Navigazioni  e  Viaggi." 
Fernando  Columbus,  "Journal  of  Columbus." 
Humboldt,  "  Examen  Critique." 
Barros,  "  Asia  Portugueza." 
Robertson,  "  History  of  America." 
Hakluyt,  "Collection  de  Voyages." 
Herrera,  "  Historia  des  Indias." 
"  Letter  of  Dr.  Chanca,"  "  Raccolta  d!  Viaggi." 
Christopher  Columbus,  "  Memoria  del  Almirante." 
Fernando  Colombo,  "  The  Admiral's  Narrative  of  his  Third  Voyage." 
Marmocchi,  "  Raccolta  di  Viaggi,"  "  Letter  to  the^Governess  of  the  Infanta  Don  Juan." 
Christopher  Columbus,  "  Letter  from  Jamaica  to  their  Majesties." 
Diego  Mendez,  "  Narrative." 
Francesco  Tarducci,  "  The  Life  of  Christopher  Columbus."     Translated  by  Henry  F. 

Brownson. 

Rev.  Arthur  George  Knight,  S.  J.,  "  The  Life  of  Christopher  Columbus." 
General  James  Grant  Wilson,  "  Memorials  and  Footprints  of  Columbus,"  in  Bulletin 

of  the  American  Geographical  Society,  1884,  No.  2. 


Vlll  LIST   OF  AUTHORITIES. 

Cotolendy,  "  La  Vie  de  Cristophe  Colomb  et  la  Decouverte." 

Giralomo  Benzoni,  "  La  Historia  del  Nuovo  Mundo. " 

R.  H.  Major's  "Letters  of  Columbus,"  Hakluyt  Society,  1847. 

Prescott's  "  Ferdinand  and  Isabella." 

"  Columbus  and  How  he  Received  and  Transmitted  the  Spirit  of  Discovery,"  by  Jus 
tin  Winsor. 

"  The  Disco  very  of  America,"  by  John  Fiske. 

"  Have  We  a  Portrait  of  Columbus  ?"  Charles  P.  Daly,  1893. 

The  Marquis  de  Belloy's  "Columbus  and  the  Discovery  of  America."  English 
Translation,  1878. 

"  Christoforo  Colombo,"  by  M.  A.  Lazzaroni,  Milano,  1892. 

"The  Wife  of  Columbus,"  by  Nicolau  Florentine  (Pereira)  and  Regina Maney,  N.  Y., 
1893. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Introductory — The  new  and  the  old  worlds  each  ignorant  of  the  existence  of  the  other 
when  Columbus  discovered  America — Views  of  the  learned  on  the  existence  of 
continents  and  great  islands  beyond  the  western  ocean  prior  to  and  at  the  time 
of  the  discovery — The  sea  of  darkness — Christopher  Columbus  meets  the  preju 
dices  and  opinions  of  the  learned  world,  and  breaks  the  spell — The  man  of 
genius  and  achievement 13 

CHAPTER  II. 

Birth  of  Columbus — Controversy  over  his  birthplace — His  parentage,  early 
.  boyhood,  education — A  weaver  of  woollen  goods — Becomes  a  sailor  at  the  age 
of  fourteen — Early  voyages — Conditions  of  commerce  and  customs  of  warfare 
in  the  fifteenth  century — The  Colombos,  a  family  of  naval  and  maritime  adven 
ture — The  naval  services  of  Columbus — Adventures  and  encounters  at  sea — At 
Lisbon,  Madeira,  Funchal — His  first  marriage — Makes  maps  for  a  living — 
Residence  at  Funchal — Birth  of  his  son  Diego — Death  of  his  first  wife — 
His  hair  turns  gray— Voyage  to  Iceland — His  plan  of  western  Atlantic  dis 
coveries — His  studies 24 

CHAPTER  III. 

Pioneer  discoveries  of  the  Portuguese  in  the  fifteenth  century — Prince  Henry 
the  Navigator,  of  Portugal,  the  precursor  of  Columbus — Character  of  Columbus 
— Residence  at  Lisbon — Maritime  history  and  spirit  of  the  age — Thirst  for  new 
discoveries — Columbus  studies  ancient  and  modern  authors — The  foundations 
upon  which  Columbus  built  his  theory  of  western  and  undiscovered  countries — 
His  enthusiasm  and  firmness — Correspondence  with  Dr.  Toscanelli — Columbus 
announces  his  theory  and  plan — Proposals  to  Venice,  to  Genoa,  and  their  rejec 
tion — Presents  them  to  the  King  of  Portugal — Again  rejected — Bad  treatment 
— Columbus  shakes  the  dust  of  Portugal  from  his  feet — An  accusation  refuted.  49 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Columbus  in  Spain — Negotiations  with  Spanish  noblemen — Ferdinand  and  Isa 
bella — Columbus  at  the  Spanish  court — Royal  audiences — Presents  his  plan- 
Columbus  at  Salamanca — Follows  the  court — A  soldier — Refusal — Departure 
from  court — Columbus  at  the  Convent  of  La  Rabida — Visits  Lisbon — Sends  his 
brother  to  England — Renews  his  application  to  Spain  —Delays — Departure — 
Recall — Renewal  of  Negotiations — Success — Terms  of  compact  between  Colum 
bus  and  the  Spanish  sovereigns — Cristoval  Colon — Lofty  aspirations 78 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Columbus  at  Cordova — His  social  position — Beatrix  Enriquez — Second  marriage 
— Birth  of  their  son  Fernando — First  origin  of  the  question  raised  as  to  the 
second  marriage  of  Columbus — Nicolao  Antonio — Palma  y  Freytas — Spotorno 
— Napione — Navarrete — Count  Roselly  de  Lorgues — Cancellieri — Washington 
Irving — Humboldt — The  Jesuit,  Father  Knight — The  question  discussed — 
Thirty  reasons  sustaining  the  marriage  of  Columbus  and  Beatrix — Lazzaroni's 
"  Cristoforo  Colombo"  sustains  the  second  marriage — Copious  extracts  there 
from — The  judgment  of  an  American  woman — Constance  Goddard  Du  Bois's 
"  Columbus  and  Beatrix" — Extracts — Conclusion 100 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Preparations — First  voyage — The  Pinta  disabled — Arrival  at  the  Canaries — The 
Pinta  repaired — Escape  from  Portuguese  vessels — Fears  of  the  sailors — Colum 
bus  discovers  the  line  of  no  variations  of  the  needle — Indications  of  land — 
Watches  day  and  night — His  devotions — Masses  of  seaweeds — Fears  of  sailors 
and  mutiny — Columbus  overcomes  them — Hope  revived — Columbus  sees  a 
light  on  the  shore — The  new  world  is  discovered — The  landing 158 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Columbus  cruises  among  the  Bahama  Islands— St.  Mary  of  the  Conception — 
Fernandina,  now  Exuma — Saometa — Island  of  Isabella — Columbus  in  search  of 
Cipango  and  the  kingdom  of  the  Grand  Khan — Discovery  and  exploration  of 
Cuba — In  search  of  the  fabled  island  of  Babeque — Columbus  deserted  by  the 
Pinta — Discovery  of  tobacco  and  the  potato — Discovery  and  exploration  of  His- 
paniola — Shipwreck — Intercourse  with  the  Indians — Guacanagari's  hospitality — 
Fortress  of  La  Navidad  erected — Columbus  sails  for  Spain — Meets  the  deserter 
Pinzon  and  the  Pinta — Skirmish  with  the  natives — Storms  at  sea — The  Azores 
— At  the  island  of  St.  Mary's— Lands  in  Portugal — At  the  Portuguese  court — 
Return  to  Palos 183 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Columbus  received  with  joy  at  Palos — Triumphant  entry  into  Barcelona — Recep 
tion  at  court — Honors  paid  to  him  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella — The  pope 
divides  the  new  lands  of  the  world  between  Spain  and  Portugal — Preparations 
of  Columbus  for  a  second  voyage — Difficulties  with  officials — Second  voyage  of 
Columbus 210 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Columbus  crosses  the  Atlantic  a  second  time — Discovers  the  Caribbee  Islands — 
Guadeloupe  Island — Cruises  among  the  Caribbees — Cannibals — Arrival  at  His- 
paniola — Finds  the  fortress  and  garrison  of  La  Navidad  destroyed — The  Cacique 
Guacanagari — The  city  of  Isabella  founded — Disease  among  the  Spaniards — 
Exploits  of  Alonzo  de  Ojeda — Ships  sent  back  to  Spain — Dissatisfaction  and 
mutiny  in  the  colony — The  admiral  at  Cibao — The  interior  of  the  island  ;  the 
natives;  their  character,  customs,  religion,  and  traditions— Sickness — Spanish 
soldiers  distributed  through  the  island — Disappointment  and  discontent  against 
Columbus — Enmity  of  Father  Boil 236 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  condition  of  Hispauiola — Columbus  makes  a  voyage  of  exploration  to  Cuba 
— Discovers  Jamaica— The  Queen's  Gardens — East  and  southern  coast  of  Cuba — 
South  side  of  Jamaica — Voyage  along  the  south  side  of  Hispaniola — Columbus 
falls  into  a  deep  lethargy — Return  to  Isabella — Bartholomew  Columbus- 
Henry  VII.  might  have  taken  the  place  of  Spain  as  the  patron  of  Columbus— 
Margarite,  the  rebel,  and  Father  Boil  ;  their  departure  from  Hispaniola — 
Caonabo  besieges  Fort  St.  Thomas — Arrival  of  ships  from  Spain — Indian 
slaves — Columbus  subjugates  the  rebellious  natives — Tribute  imposed — Colum 
bus  intrigued  against  at  court — Aguado  sent  out  to  investigate  his  conduct — 
Aguado's  arrogance  toward  the  admiral— Mines  discovered  at  Hayna — Colum 
bus  returns  to  Spain  with  Aguado 278 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Columbus  arrives  in  Spain — Awaits  an  invitation  to  court — Wears  in  public  the 
habit  of  a  Franciscan  monk — His  reception  at  Burgos — Proposes  a  third  voyage 
— Refuses  a  principality — Establishes  a  mayorazgo — Makes  his  will — Delays 
suffered  from  the  Bureau  of  the  Indies — Third  voyage — Discovers  Trinidad — 
Sails  through  the  Gulf  of  Paria — Discovers  the  continent — Discovers  the 
equatorial  swelling  of  the  earth  and  the  Gulf  Stream — His  theories  and  specula 
tions — Reaches  Hispaniola — The  Adelantado — Military  posts — Conspiracy  and 
rebellion  of  Roldan — Treatment  of  the  rebels — Insurrections  of  the  chief  Gua- 
rionex — The  Adelantado's  campaign  in  Ciguay — Confusion  in  Hispaniola — 
Roldan  and  the  rebels  take  possession  of  Xaragua — Negotiations  with  the 
rebels  ;  their  treachery  ;  Columbus  compelled  to  accept  their  terms — Colum 
bus  and  the  Indians — Why  his  name  was  not  conferred  on  the  new  world — Las 
Casas  not  the  originator  of  African  slavery  in  America — Americus  Vespucius. .  332 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Roldan  resumes  his  office  as  alcalde  mayor — His  arrogance — Columbus  grants 
lands  to  Roldan's  followers — Indian  service — Rebels  returning  to  Spain — Rol 
dan  and  Ojeda — The  admiral  despondent — Vision  of  Columbus — Improved 
condition  of  affairs — Intrigues  against  Columbus  at  the  court  of  Spain — Boba- 
dilla  appointed  to  examine  into  the  affairs  of  Hispaniola  and  the  administration 
of  Columbus — His  violence — Columbus  summoned  before  him — Arrested  and 
placed  in  chains — Sent  to  Spain  in  this  condition — Sensation  in  Spain — Appears 
at  court — Bobadilla  superseded  by  Ovando — Columbus  proposes  to  redeem  the 
Holy  Sepulchre — Proposals  for  a  fourth  voyage — Departure  for  the  new  world 
— His  precautions — Signature ,. , , ,, , , , 406 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Fourth  voyage  of  Columbus— Repelled  by  Ovando  from  San  Domingo— Foretells 
an  approaching  storm — Escapes  unharmed,  while  Bobadilla  and  Roldan  are  lost 
at  sea — Discovers  the  continent  at  Honduras — Severe  illness — Veragua— Ex 
ploration  of  the  Mosquito  coast — Abandons  the  search  for  a  central  passage  to 
the  other  sea — Attempted  colony  at  Belen  River — Hostile  encounters  with  the 
natives — Abandons  Veragua — Loses  two  ships — The  remaining  two  ships,  with 
the  admiral  and  his  companions  on  board,  stranded  on  the  coast  of  Jamaica — 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

Endures  disaster  heroically — Heroism  of  Diego  Mendez — Desperate  condition 
of  Columbus — Mutiny  of  the  Porras  brothers — The  natives  of  Jamaica — Eclipse 
of  the  moon — Mendez  and  Fiesco  carry  word  of  his  condition  to  Ovando — 
Ovando's  conduct — Battle  with  the  Porras  rebels — Ovando's  administration  at 
Hispaniola — Escape  from  Jamaica — Visit  to  Hispaniola — Return  to  Spain 475 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Columbus  enters  Spain — His  sickness,  poverty  and  distress — Application  to  the 
court  for  justice — Death  of  Queen  Isabella — Columbus  has  himself  conveyed  to 
court — His  petitions  for  redress  and  the  restitution  of  his  rights  unheeded — In 
gratitude  of  King  Ferdinand — The  last  illness  of  Columbus — His  death — His 
epitaph — Removals  of  his  remains — His  family — His  character  and  services — 
The  quadri-centennial  celebration  of  the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus. . .  554 


OLD  ANDNEWLIGHTS  ON  COLUMBUS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

'*  Ocean,  thou  dreadful  and  tumultuous  home 
Of  dangers,  at  eternal  war  with  man  ' 
Death's  capitol,  where  most  he  dominates, 
With  all  his  chosen  terrors  frowning  round, 
Wide  opening  and  loud  roaring  still  for  more, 
Too  faithful  mirror  !" 

— ANONYMOUS. 

"  Let  ignorance  with  envy  chat  ; 

In  spite   of  both,  thou  fame  shalt  win." 

— HERRICK,  TO  BEN  JONSON. 

"  His  was  the  gifted  eye,  which  grace  still  touched 
As  if  with  second  nature  ;   and  his  dreams, 
His  childish  dreams,  were  lit  by  hues  of  heaven — 
Those  which  make  Genius." 

— Miss  LANDON. 


"  Our  fortunes  meet  us  ; 

...  if  good,  the  act  of  heav'n." 


— DRYDEN. 


IN  spite  of  occasional  theories  of  Greek  or  Roman  philosophers 
as  to  the  shape  of  the  earth,  and  of  dim  traditions  of  savage  tribes 
almost  shapeless  and  objectless,  the  old  world  and  the  new  were 
equally  ignorant  of  the  existence  of  each  other,  from  remotest 
times  down  to  October  I2th,  1492,  when  Christopher  Columbus, 
with  undaunted  courage,  consummate  skill  and  action,  realizing 
his  own  theories  and  verifying  traditions  and  prophesies,  electri 
fied  the  one  by  his  discovery  of  the  other.  Now  at  last  mankind 
saw  their  own  planet,  a  beautiful  sphere  bathed  in  celestial  light. 

When  the  admiral  and  his  companions  approached  and  anchored 
their  three  vessels  at  the  islands  of  the  Western  Hemisphere, 
which  they  had  just  discovered,  the  gentle  natives  either  fell 
upon  the  earth  on  their  faces  and  worshipped  the  new-comers 
as  divine  beings,  or,  frightened  and  dismayed  at  so  sudden  and 
marvellous  an  apparition,  fled  to  the  woods  in  terror.  When 


14  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

they  saw  these  noble  and  resplendent  strangers  land  with  pomp 
and  pageantry,  and,  displaying  their  golden  banner,  take  formal 
possession  of  the  country,  a  ceremony  then  little  understood  by 
the  natives,  they  exclaimed  :  "  Turey,  Turey  !"  "  You  are  from 
Heaven  !"  The  fierce  Caribs  of  the  Caribbean  Islands,  and  later 
the  warlike  tribes  of  the  mainland  along  the  coast  of  Honduras, 
marshalled  their  naked  warriors  in  battle  array  to  repel  the 
celestial  visitors. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  Columbus  broached  his  theories  and 
presented  his  propositions  and  plans,  for  the  discovery  of  new 
countries  in  the  western  ocean,  to  the  civilized  world,  and  de 
manded  ships  to  sail  westward  across  the  Atlantic  in  search  of 
the  promised  land,  his  suit  was  rejected  by  one  sovereign  after 
another  ;  he  traveled  from  country  to  country,  and  from  one 
royal  court  to  another,  to  plead  the  cause  of  a  new  world,  before 
unwilling  and  incredulous  nations.  He  was  derided  as  a  needy 
adventurer  and  visionary  theorist,  and  as  he  passed  through  the 
streets,  which  afterward  he  traversed  in  triumph,  even  the  little 
children  mocked  and  scoffed  at  him,  and  they  placed  their  hands 
upon  their  foreheads  to  indicate,  as  they  had  been  taught,  that 
he  was  a  madman.  The  august  Council  of  Salamanca,  composed 
of  the  most  learned  men  of  the  age,  to  whom  the  propositions  of 
Columbus  were  referred  for  investigation  by  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  and  before  whom  he  elaborately 
and  ably  explained  them  and  answered  all  objections,  reported 
to  their  Majesties  that  the  plan  "  was  vain  and  impossible,  and 
that  it  did  not  become  such  great  princes  to  engage  in  an  enter 
prise  of  the  kind  on  such  weak  grounds  as  had  been  advanced."* 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  learning  and  the  intelligence  of 
the  ancients  in  relation  to  the  shape,  size,  extent,  and  geography 
of  the  earth,  and  as  to  the  existence  of  other  continents,  all  these 
had  been  swept  aside  and  buried  in  oblivion  by  the  great  social, 
political,  and  moral  cataclysm  caused  by  the  terrific  incursions 
of  the  northern  barbarians  into  Southern  Europe.  It  is  certain 
that,  at  the  time  Christopher  Columbus  sprang  the  subject  upon 
the  world  toward  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  Europe  and 
Asia  knew  nothing  of  the  existence  of  western  islands  and  con 
tinents  in  the  Atlantic,  and  wholly  rejected  every  such  theory. 


*  Irving's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.   100. 


ON    COLUMBUS.  15 

The  Atlantic  Ocean,  vast,  unexplored,  and  stormy,  was  an  ob 
ject  of  fear  and  terror  to  all  men  ;  even  the  learned  and  experi 
enced  navigators  regarded  it  with  awe  and  aversion.  It  was 
called  the  Sea  of  Darkness,*  and  the  belief  was  universal,  except 
possibly  with  a  very  few  learned  ones,  that  it  was  unnavigable 
and  impassable.  It  was  regarded  by  the  most  experienced  navi 
gators  as  a  boundless  and  tempestuous  expanse,  without  opposite 
shores,  and  they  regarded  the  known  world  as  already  reaching 
to  the  limits  of  the  habitable  or  passable  globe.  It  was  univer 
sally  believed  that  our  planet  was  embraced  by  a  raging  and 
torrid  zone,  subject  to  the  unbridled,  fiery,  and  all-consuming 
flames  of  the  sun,  and  that  this  zone  formed  a  region  of  impassa 
ble  and  impassive  heat,  and  that  the  two  hemispheres  were  for 
ever  and  irretrievably  separated  from  each  other  by  it ;  the 
waters  of  the  torrid  zone,  under  the  vertical  and  raging  fires  of 
the  sun,  were  a  caldron  of  boiling  and  seething  billows,  and 
that  sea  and  land  were  scorched  to  a  heat  in  which  animal  and 
vegetable  life  could  not  be  maintained,  f  Iceland  was  regarded 
as  the  ultima  Thule,  the  utmost  boundary  of  the  earth  \\  and  the 
learned  Gravier,  in  our  own  times,  writes,  while  commenting  on 
the  space  lying  beyond  Thule  or  Iceland,  in  passages  which  I 
translate  from  his  profound  work,  thus  :  "  According  to  Strabo, 
who  quotes  Polybius,  Pythias  should  have  said  that  beyond 
Thule  there  is  no  longer  to  be  met  nor  earth,  nor  sea,  nor  air, 
but  a  concretion  of  these  different  elements,  similar  to  the  marine 
Pulmonate,  which  holds  in  suspension  and  reunites  by  one  com 
mon  bond  the  earth,  the  sea,  and  the  air,  and  no  longer  allows 
man  to  walk  or  to  navigate. 

'  The  learned  have  much  discussed  this  marine  pulmonate ,  and 
have  successively  transferred  it  into  smoke  thrown  out  by  Mount 
Hekla,  into  polar  seas,  into  pumice-stones  proceeding  from  vol 
canoes,  which  seem  to  exist  toward  the  seventy-fifth  degree. 

"  A  seaman,  who  had  seen  only  the  beautiful  blue  sky  of  the 
Mediterranean,  who  partook  more  or  less  of  the  ideas  prevailing 
in  his  time  upon  the  cosmography  of  the  hyperborean  regions, 
could  believe  that  he  had  reached  the  extreme  border  of  the 


*  De  Costa,  "  Pre-Columbian  Discovery  of  America,"  xii. 
f  "  Historia  Espan.  Mariana,"  lib.  ii.,  cap.  22. 
j  Strabo,   "  Polybius." 


1 6  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

globe  accessible  to  man,  and  compare  the  atmosphere  of  these 
regions  to  the  marine  pulmonate. "  * 

Even  the  famous  "  Dialogues  of  Plato,"  preserved  in  their 
temple  by  the  Egyptian  priests,  and  now  given  to  the  modern 
world  in  all  their  details,  represent  the  Atlantic  Ocean  as  having 
been  in  ancient  times  navigable,  but  in  consequence  of  the  great 
cataclysm,  which  destroyed  the  island  or  continent  of  Atlantis, 
it  had  now  become  impassable  by  reason  of  the  vast  quantities  of 
slimy  mud  resulting  from  the  submerging  of  those  immense 
regions  of  the  earth.  "  But  afterward  there  occurred  violent 
earthquakes  and  floods,  and  in  a  single  day  and  night  of  rain  all 
your  warlike  men  in  a  body  sunk  into  the  earth,  and  the  island 
of  Atlantis  in  like  manner  disappeared,  and  was  sunk  beneath  the 
sea  ;  and  that  is  the  reason  why  the  sea  in  those  parts  is  impass 
able  and  impenetrable,  because  there  is  such  a  quantity  of  shallow 
mud  in  the  way  ;  and  this  was  caused  by  the  subsidence  of  the 
island."  f 

Considering  the  age  of  the  human  race  and  the  duration  of 
man's  dominion  on  the  earth,  we  can  but  be  surprised  at  the  slow 
growth  of  the  science  of  geography,  and  how  little  was  known 
in  the  time  of  Columbus  concerning  the  planet  upon  which  we 
live.  While  several  of  the  wisest  men  of  the  ancients  entertained 
most  intelligent  views  of  the  shape  and  size  of  the  earth,  still 
after  the  overthrow  of  the  Roman  Empire  scarcely  more  was 
known  of  the  earth  than  the  countries  immediately  around  the 
Mediterranean  Sea,  and  while  scarcely  anything  was  known  of 
Scandinavia,  Russia,  and  Northern  Germany,  the  vaguest  and 
most  erroneous  notions  prevailed  as  to  them  and  other  lands 
known  only  by  name  ;  and  almost  nothing  was  known  of  Siberia, 
Tartary,  China,  Japan,  and  of  the  great  Asiatic  archipelago. 
There  was  a  strong  tendency,  even  among  the  learned,  to  ex 
aggerate  the  proportions  of  Europe  and  to  underrate  those  of 
Asia.  Among  the  egregious  errors  then  prevailing  were  the 
belief  that  the  Ganges  flowed  entirely  to  the  east  and  emptied 
into  the  eastern  ocean,  while  the  Caspian  Sea  was  believed  to  be 
the  northern  limit  of  the  earth  ;  and  what  we  know  now  to  be 


*  "Decouverte  de  I'Amerique  paries  Normans  au  X"  Siecle,"  xvii. 
f  Plato's  "  Dialogues,"  ii.,  517.     "Timaus,"as  given  in   Donnelly's   "Atlantis," 
p.  n. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  I/ 

Siberia  and  Tartary  were  regarded  as  an  inland  sea  connecting 
the  Caspian  with  the  eastern  ocean.  The  Mediterranean  borders 
of  Africa  alone  were  known,  and  all  south  of  these  was  regarded 
as  the  torrid  zone  and  so  ravaged  with  the  solar  flames  as  to  be 
uninhabitable.  This  view  of  the  torrid  zone  toward  the  equator 
prevailed  even  to  the  time  of  Columbus,  and  was  only  dissipated 
by  the  bold  explorations  of  the  Portuguese  along  the  west  coast 
of  Africa,  and  by  Columbus  himself,  who  visited  the  equator. 
Strabo,  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  first  Christian  century,  while 
rejecting  the  ancient  belief  that  Africa  was  circumnavigable, 
intelligently  adhered  to  the  belief  in  an  encircling  ocean  ;  and 
Pomponius  Mela,  the  earliest  of  the  Roman  geographers,  in  the 
time  of  the  Emperor  Claudius,  divided  the  world  into  two  hemi 
spheres  :  the  Northern,  which  embraced  all  of  the  known  world, 
such  as  Europe  north  of  the  Mediterranean  and  west  of  the 
Tanais  ;  Africa,  south  of  the  Mediterranean  and  west  of  the  Nile, 
and  such  parts  of  Western  Asia  as  were  known  ;  the  Southern 
Hemisphere  embraced  all  the  rest  of  the  earth,  which  was  un 
known.  But  in  the  middle  of  the  second  century,  when  the 
Roman  Empire  had  acquired  its  greatest  extent  and  all  its  prov 
inces  were  known  and  surveyed  and  their  census  taken,  the  great 
geographer  Ptolemy,  who  had  abandoned  the  more  intelligent 
notion  of  Strabo  as  to  a  circumambient  ocean,  contented  himself 
with  the  theory  of  a  vast  expanse  of  unknown  land  ;  but  while 
he  added  much  to  mankind's  knowledge  of  the  geography  of  the 
earth,  including  slight  glimpses  at  the  Baltic  countries,  Russia, 
Scythia,  and  even  China  and  India,  still  Africa  was  delineated  as 
extending  indefinitely  to  the  south,  and  was  continued  around  so 
as  to  join  Eastern  Asia,  thus  surrounding  the  Indian  Ocean  by 
land,  like  the  Mediterranean.  It  is  true  and  wonderful  that  in 
the  ninth  century  the  Northmen  from  Iceland  discovered  and 
colonized  Greenland,  and  visited  lands  now  known  by  us  to  be 
the  shores  and  islands  of  our  own  Atlantic  coast  ;  but  these  bold 
adventurers  never  understood  the  geographical  bearing  of  their 
own  discoveries,  nor  that  they  had  entered  a  western  hemi 
sphere,  nor  was  the  knowledge  of  these  discoveries  given  to  man 
kind  until  recent  years.  Such  were  the  circumstances  and  re 
sults  as  to  deprive  their  achievements  of  the  character  of  discov 
eries.  Some  have  supposed  that  Columbus  may  have  heard  of 
the  expeditions  of  the  Northmen  during  his  visit  to  Iceland  in 


18  OLD    AM)    NEW    LIGHTS 


1477  5  but  his  son,  Fernando,  who  recorded  the  sources  of  infor 
mation  upon  which  his  father  acted,  fails  to  mention  this  as 
among  the  varied  and  numerous  data  possessed  by  the  great 
admiral  ;  for  the  latter  left,  among  his  papers,  the  most  ample 
memoranda  of  all  the  information  he  had  ever  obtained,  bearing 
upon  his  theory  of  the  existence  of  western  islands  and  continents 
across  the  Atlantic. 

But  it  was  the  progress  of  European  advances  into  Eastern 
Asia  that  contributed  the  most  important  results  to  the  progress 
of  geography,  and  it  was  this  growth  of  European  knowledge  of 
the  vast  extent  of  Asia  in  that  direction  that  so  greatly  influenced 
the  work  of  Christopher  Columbus,  who  to  the  last  aimed  at  dis 
covering  a  Northwest  passage  to  Asia,  and  lived  and  died  in  the 
belief,  in  which  all  the  world  united  with  him  then,  that  the 
islands  and  lands  he  had  discovered  in  the  Western  Hemisphere 
were  parts  of  Asia.  Prior  to  the  thirteenth  century  Asia  was 
but  little  known  to  Europeans,  but  in  that  century  the  Popes 
sent  missionaries  into  the  distant  regions  of  that  continent.  Thus 
in  1246  we  behold  Pope  Innocent  IV.  sending  the  celebrated 
Father  John  de  Piano  Carpini  with  Franciscan  monks  to  convert 
the  subjects  of  the  Tartar  Emperor,  Kayuk  Khan,  and  these  zeal 
ous  missionaries  extended  their  apostolate  to  the  far  regions  of 
Thibet.  But  even  prior  to  this,  toward  the  middle  of  the  twelfth 
century,  startling  rumors  were  current  in  Europe  that  there 
reigned  in  Asia  a  powerful  Christian  emperor,  Prester  John, 
who  had  already  broken  the  power  of  the  Mussulmans,  and  was 
ready  to  come  to  the  assistance  of  the  Crusaders.  Pope  Alex 
ander  III.  determined  to  lose  no  time  in  opening  communication 
with  this  famous  yet  shadowy  chief,  who  was  at  once  both  king 
and  pontiff,  and  on  September  27th,  1177,  he  sent  a  special  em 
bassy,  headed  by  the  heroic  physician,  Philip,  bearing  a  letter 
and  proposal  for  a  union  of  this  Asiatic  part  of  the  Church  with 
the  rest  of  Christendom.  Although  Dr.  Philip  never  returned 
with  tidings  of  Prester  John,  this  effort  was  followed  by  the  mis 
sions  under  Pope  Innocent  IV.,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and 
again  in  1253,  when  St.  Louis,  King  of  France,  sent  Rubruiquis 
and  other  missionaries  in  search  of  Prester  John,  and  these  pene 
trated  into  Asia  far  beyond  all  other  European  expeditions.  In 
1271  the  celebrated  Venetian  discoverer  and  geographer,  Marco 
Polo,  went  forth  with  his  father  and  uncle  to  reach  the  far-famed 


ON   COLUMBUS.  19 

court  of  the  Tartar  conqueror  of  China,  the  celebrated  Kublai 
Khan.  They  traveled  three  years,  reached  the  city  of  Yehkingr 
which  was  near  the  present  site  of  Peking,  and  Marco  Polo,  after 
a  residence  of  twenty-four  years  in  Asia,  returned  to  Europe  and 
published  his  great  work  on  his  travels,  thus  revealing  to  Europe 
the  existence  of  the  vast  Empire  of  Japan  and  of  many  of  the  islands 
of  the  East  Indies.  Marco  Polo  was  a  favorite  author  of  Colum 
bus,  who  was  confident  that  in  his  voyages  to  the  Western  Con 
tinent  he  would  reach  the  countries  visited  and  described  by  that 
great  traveler  and  writer,  and  that  he  was  destined  to  reach  the 
court  of  the  Grand  Khan  of  Tartary,  and  effect  the  conversion 
of  that  famous  potentate  and  the  union  of  the  Grand  Khan  and  his 
vast  empire,  teeming  with  countless  populations,  with  the  Chris 
tian  Church,  a  result  which  had  been  sought  in  vain  for  centuries 
by  popes,  kings,  and  apostles.  On  his  first  voyage  Columbus 
actually  carried  letters  from  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  addressed 
to,  and  which  he  expected  to  deliver  in  person  to,  the  Grand 
Khan.  The  most  enlightened  view  reached  by  the  advanced 
cosmographers  and  scholars  of  the  fifteenth  century,  by  such 
men  as  Columbus  and  Dr.  Toscanelli,  the  learned  and  venerable 
cosmographer  of  Florence,  the  friend  and  correspondent  of  the 
admiral,  was  that  the  eastern  shores,  countries,  and  islands  of 
Asia  lay  over  against  the  western  coasts  of  Europe  and  Africa, 
and  that  they  would  be  reached  by  sailing  across  the  Atlantic, 
the  Sea  of  Darkness,  in  a  direct  western  course. 

It  was  during  the  lifetime  of  Columbus,  and  before  his  great 
discovery,  that  the  most  gigantic  strides  were  made  in  the  science 
of  navigation  and  in  the  knowledge  of  the  earth's  geography. 
We  shall  show  hereafter,  in  this  book,  the  brilliant  and  useful 
part  he  took  in  these  enlightened  and  practical  advances — a  part 
which  culminated  in  the  greatest  achievement  in  the  history"  of 
our  race,  the  discovery  of  America.  But,  in  order  to  accomplish 
this  great  boon  for  mankind,  he  had  to  contradict  the  opinions, 
the  traditions,  and  the  honest  convictions  of  men  and  of  the 
world.  The  chaos  spoken  of  by  Washington  Irving,  in  the  fol 
lowing  passage  of  his  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  is  similar  to  the 
conglomerate  of  earth,  air,  sea,  and  smoke  spoken  of  by  Gravier 
under  the  name  of  marine  pulmonate,  as  expressing  the  absurd 
views  entertained  concerning  the  Atlantic,  even  by  the  most 
learned  in  the  time  of  Columbus.  "  Certain  it  is,"  says  Mr. 


20  OLD    AND    \K\V    LItillTS 

Irving,  "  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  when  the 
most  intelligent  minds  were  seeking  in  every  direction  for  the 
scattered  lights  of  geographical  knowledge,  a  profound  igno 
rance  prevailed  among  the  learned  as  to  the  western  regions  of 
the  Atlantic  ;  its  vast  waters  were  regarded  with  awe  and  won 
der,  seeming  to  bound  the  world  as  with  a  chaos,  into  which 
conjecture  could  not  penetrate  and  enterprise  feared  to  venture." 
In  pressing  his  great  suit  and  pleading  the  cause  of  a  new  world, 
Columbus  encountered  all  the  supposed  learning  of  past  ages,  as 
well  that  of  his  contemporaries,  to  which,  I  think,  Mr.  Justin 
Winsor  attaches  an  exaggerated  importance.*  Rejected  by  the 
Council  of  Salamanca,  as  it  had  previously  been  pronounced  by 
the  most  learned  men  at  the  court  of  Portugal,  as  an  "  enter 
prise  of  a  wild,  chimerical  nature,"  the  admiral,  toward  the  close 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  had  also  to  meet  and  refute  the  argu 
ments  mistakenly  based  upon  passages  from  the  Bible,  and  also 
such  as  could  be  found  or  deduced  from  the  writings  of  the 
Christian  Fathers.  Lactantius,  one  of  the  earliest  and  most 
learned  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  had  rejected  and  ridiculed 
the  theory  of  the  Antipodes,  which  had  been  broached  by  the 
ancients,  in  the  following  remarkable  and  sarcastic  passage  :  "  Is 
there  any  one  so  foolish  as  to  believe  that  there  are  antipodes 
with  their  feet  opposite  to  ours — people  who  walk  with  their 
heels  upward  and  their  heads  hanging  down  ?  that  there  is  a 
part  of  the  world  in  which  all  things  are  topsy-turvy  ;  where  the 
trees  grow  with  their  branches  downward,  and  where  it  rains, 
hails,  and  snows  upward  ?  The  idea  of  the  roundness  of  the 
earth  was  the  cause  of  inventing  this  fable  of  the  antipodes,  with 
their  heels  in  the  air  ;  for  these  philosophers,  having  once  erred, 
go  on  in  their  absurdities,  defending  one  with  another."  f  And 
St.  Augustine  wholly  rejected  the  fact  of  the  antipodes  "  as  in 
compatible  with  the  historical  foundations  of  the  earth."  Having 
no  acquaintance  with  the  geography  of  the  polar  regions  and  the 
lay  of  the  land  of  Northern  Asia,  as  we  know  them,  he  regarded 
the  theory  of  the  antipodes  as  contradicting  the  scriptural  ac 
count  of  the  unity  of  the  human  race  ;  and  the  races  of  men  in- 


*  "  Christopher  Columbus,  and   how   he    Received  and  Transmitted   the   Spirit  of 
Discovery,"  by  Justin  Winsor,  1891. 

f  Firmiani  Lactantiae,  "  Divin.  Instit.,"  lib.  Hi.,  cap.  xxiv. 


ON    COLUMBUS.  21 

habiting  the  opposite  side  of  the  earth  could  not  have  been  de 
scended  from  Adam  and  Eve,  since  there  was  no  land  passage 
for  them  to  take  from  the  cradle  lands  of  the  old  world,  "  and  it 
was  impossible  for  them  to  have  passed  the  intervening  ocean." 

The  genius,  the  learning,  and  the  convictions  of  Columbus 
arose  above  opposition,  prejudice,  and  tradition.  His  knowl 
edge  of  the  subject,  acquired  by  long  years  of  study,  his  cogent, 
clear,  and  unanswerable  reasoning,  his  bold  and  confident  pledge 
to  the  world  that,  if  afforded  the  opportunity  and  provided  with 
ships,  he  would  discover  a  new  world — all  point  him  out  for  all 
time,  as  it  did  to  the  intelligent  minds  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 
as  the  man  that  was  fitted,  if  not  destined,  to  achieve  this  splendid 
and  unparalleled  conquest.  He  believed  in  his  own  destiny,  and 
being  a  man  of  profoundly  religious  character,  he  failed  not  to 
find  in  the  sacred  writings  texts  which  pointed  to  him  as  the  man 
of  destiny — the  man  that  was  to  lead  the  way,  by  his  grand  dis 
coveries  and  achievements,  to  extending  the  realms  of  Christen 
dom  to  vast  and  unknown  countries.  He  sustained  his  startling 
propositions  with  scientific  knowledge  and  facts  drawn  from  the 
very  nature,  size,  shape,  and  from  the  known  geography  of  the 
earth,  from  the  reports  of  experienced  and  veteran  navigators, 
and  the  writings  of  the  learned  in  all  ages.  While  there  were 
errors  of  detail  in  the  theories  and  anticipations  of  the  great  dis 
coverer,  such  as  his  expectation  and  belief  that  Asia  was  the  land 
he  would  find,  and  his  miscalculation  of  the  size  of  the  earth, 
arising  out  of  the  then  current  imperfect  geographical  knowledge 
of  the  world,  his  main  proposition  was  correct,  and  he  made  it 
good  by  the  unanswerable  argument  of  success.  All  the  learned 
men,  scientists  and  scholars  of  his  day,  with  few  exceptions,  de 
rided  the  startling  conceptions  of  Columbus.  After  the  great 
discovery  had  been  accomplished  they  also  adopted  the  mistaken 
hypothesis  that  the  countries  discovered  were  parts  of  Asia. 
But  they  now  rejoiced  that  their  lives  were  cast  in  an  age  of  such 
brilliant  achievements  ;  that  they  had  been  permitted  to  witness 
the  consummation  of  so  grand  an  event,  and  to  welcome  discov 
eries  pregnant  with  the  fate  of  empires  and  of  worlds.  I  cannot 
more  appropriately  close  this  introductory  chapter  than  by  quot 
ing  the  language  of  the  historian,  William  H.  Prescott,  who, 


*  St.  Augustine,  "  DC  Civitate  Dei,"  lib.  xvi.,  c.  ix. 


22  OLD    AND    NK\V    LICI1TS 

after  describing  the  magnificent  and  royal  reception  accorded  to 
Columbus  on  his  return  from  discovering-  the  new  world,  says  : 
"  It  was,  indeed,  the  proudest  moment  in  the  life  of  Columbus. 
He  had  fully  established  the  truth  of  his  long-contested  theory, 
in  the  face  of  argument,  sophistry,  sneers,  scepticism,  and  con 
tempt.  He  had  achieved  this  not  by  chance,  but  by  calculation, 
supported  through  the  most  adverse  circumstances  by  consum 
mate  conduct.  The  honors  paid  him,  which  had  hitherto  been 
reserved  only  for  rank  or  fortune  or  military  success,  purchased 
by  the  blood  and  tears  of  thousands,  were,  in  his  case,  an  homage 
to  intellectual  power,  successfully  exerted  in  behalf  of  the  noblest 
interests  of  humanity."  * 

It  seems  almost  impossible  to  study  the  lite  and  character  of 
Columbus  without  becoming  impressed  with  an  indulgent  if  not 
sympathetic  view  of  the  idea  which  the  man  himself  entertained, 
that  he  was  foreordained  to  become  the  discoverer  of  the  new 
world,  and  to  yield  our  admiration  to  the  thought.  Many  learned, 
grave,  and  practical  authors,  who  have  written  on  the  subject, 
appear  to  become  unconsciously  imbued  with  the  idea  of  destiny, 
which  Columbus  entertained  of  himself.  The  good  but  perhaps 
over-zealous  Count  de  Lorgues,  in  one  of  his  spirited  works  on 
Columbus,  boldly  asserts  that  ' '  he  who  does  not  believe  in  the 
supernatural  cannot  comprehend  Columbus  ;"  and  our  own  Ban 
croft,  seemingly  yielding  to  the  same  inspiration,  says  :  "  Poets 
of  ancient  and  of  more  recent  times  had  foretold  that  empires 
beyond  the  ocean  would  one  day  be  revealed  to  the  daring  navi 
gator.  The  genial  country  of  Dante  and  Buonarotti  gave  birth 
to  Christopher  Columbus,  by  whom  these  lessons  were  so  re 
ceived  and  weighed  that  he  gained  the  glory  of  fulfilling  the 
prophecy,  "f  And  again  he  speaks  of  Columbus  as  one  "  who 
was  still  the  promiser  of  kingdoms,  holding  firmly  in  his  grasp 
'  the  keys  of  the  ocean  sea,'  claiming,  as  it  were  from  Heaven, 
the  Indies  as  his  own,  and  'dividing  them  as  he  pleased.'  It 
was  then  that  through  the  prior  of  the  convent  his  holy  confi 
dence  found  support  in  Isabella,  the  Queen  of  Castile,  and  in 
1492,  with  three  poor  vessels,  of  which  the  largest  only  was 
decked,  embarking  from  Palos  for  the  Indies  by  way  of  the  west, 


*  Prescott's  "  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  164. 
f  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  1883,  vol.  i.,  p.  7. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  23 

Columbus  gave  a  new  world  to  Castile  and  Leon,  '  the  like  of 
which  was  never  done  by  any  man  in  ancient  or  in  later  times.'  "  * 
And  again,  speaking  of  the  predictions  by  ancient  poets  of  the 
discovery  of  America,  and  of  the  belief  prevalent  for  ages  "  that 
vast  inhabited  regions  lay  unexplored  in  the  west,"  he  says  : 
"  But  Columbus  deserved  the  undivided  glory  of  having  realized 
that  belief,  "f 


*  Bancroft's  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  vol.  i.,  p.  9. 
f  Ib.t  1854,  vol.  i.,  p.  6. 


CHAPTER   II. 

"  How  young  Columbus  seem'd  to  rove, 

Yet  present  in  his  natal  grove, 
Now  watching  high  on  mountain  cornice, 
And  steering,  now,  from  purple  cove  ; 

"  Now  pacing  mute  by  ocean's  rim, 
Till  in  a  narrow  street  and  dim, 
I  stay'd  the  wheels  at  Cogoleto, 
And  drank,  and  loyally  drank,  to  him." 

— TENNYSON. 

"  The  dark  blue  jacket  that  enfolds  the  sailor's  manly  breast 
Bears  more  of  real  honor  than  the  star  and  ermine  vest ; 
The  tithe  of  folly  in  his  head  may  wake  the  landsman's  mirth, 
But  Nature  proudly  owns  him  as  her  child  of  sterling  worth." 

— Miss  ELIZA  COOK. 

i 

THE  time  and  the  place  of  the  birth  of  Christopher  Columbus 
have  been,  among  rival  cities  and  historians,  the  subjects  of 
warm  controversy  and  of  consequent  careful  research.  While 
the  day  of  his  birth  has  never  been  ascertained,  and  there  exists 
a  difference  of  many  years  between  the  earliest  and  the  latest  years 
assigned  for  his  nativity,  it  is  now  considered  by  the  far  greater 
number  of  authentic  historians  that  he  was  born  in  the  year 
1446,  or  possibly  early  in  1447.* 

Still  greater  has  been  the  diversity  of  claims  as  to  his  birth 
place,  and  far  more  earnest  the  controversy.  While  Genoa  is 
the  foremost  and  most  successful  claimant,  even  the  Genoese 
have  warmly  disputed  among  themselves  for  the  honor,  and 
whether  Columbus  was  born  in  the  city,  or  in  some  village  or 


*  Mr.  Irving  gives  1435  as  the  year  of  his  birth  ("  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  i., 
p.  22).  The  Count  de  Lorgues  adopts  the  same  year  (Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  the 
Count  de  Lorgues'  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  p.  48).  Francesco  Tarducci,  a  learned  Ital 
ian  author,  prefers  the  year  1436,  on  the  authority  of  Andres  Bernaldez.  known  in  his 
tory  as  the  Curate  of  Los  Palacios  (Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life  of 
Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  10).  Various  authors  give  different  years  for  the  birth  of  Colum 
bus,  and  the  time  covered  by  these  years  varies  from  1430  to  1456.  I  think,  after 
consulting  many  opinions  and  authorities,  and  considering  the  events  and  course  of 
the  admiral's  life,  the  year  of  his  birth  was  most  probably  1446. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  2$ 

other  part  of  the  Genoese  territory,  was  long  and  is  possibly 
now  a  question  that  has  provoked  considerable  rivalry  and  local 
research.  Savona,  Finale,  and  Oneglia,  western  coastwise  towns 
of  Liguria,  and  Cogoleto  (the  place  where  Lord  Tennyson  drank 
his  health  in  verse),  Boggiasco,  and  several  other  towns  and 
villages  have  claimed  the  great  admiral  as  their  native  towns 
man.  While  Cogoleto  and  Savona  have  successively  been  ad 
judged  the  victors,  and  finally  Genoa  carried  off  the  palm,  other 
places,  such  as  Placentia,  and  especially  Piedmont,  have  laid 
claim  to  the  distinction,  and  the  controversy  is  still  warmly  and 
stoutly  maintained.  Yet  the  victory  is  now  almost  universally 
acknowledged  to  be  with  Genoa  as  the  birthplace  of  Columbus.* 
This  contest  for  the  honor  of  having  given  birth  to  this  illustrious 
man  was  never  raised  until  after  his  death,  for  during  his  lifetime 
there  have  been  few  men  of  any  distinction  who  have  borne  more 
disappointment,  ridicule,  ingratitude,  and  poverty  than  he.  His 
fate  in  this  respect  has  been  similar  to  that  of  another  gifted  and 
famous  personage,  the  earliest  and  greatest  of  Grecian  poets, 
Homer  ;  for  of  the  latter  it  has  been  said  that 

"Seven  cities  claim  great  Homer  dead, 
Through  which  the  living  Homer  begged  his  bread." 

Columbus  was  the  oldest  of  the  four  children  of  Dominico 
Colombo  and  Susannah  Fontanarossa  ;  three  of  them  were  sons, 
Bartholomew  and  Giacomo  (written  Diego  in  Spanish  and  James 
in  English)  being  his  brothers,  and  of  these  our  history  will  make 
frequent  mention  ;  but  of  his  only  sister,  who  was  married  to  an 
obscure  Genoese  named  Giacomo  Bavarello,  we  know  nothing 
further.  Since  his  death  efforts  have  been  made  to  deduce  the 
descent  of  Columbus  from  ancient  and  ennobled  sources,  and 
several  illustrious  and  noble  families  have  claimed  him  as  of  their 


*  At  first  the  claimants  for  the  honor  of  having  been  the  birthplace  of  Columbus 
were  six  ;  but  in  after  years,  as  his  fame  increased,  the  number  increased  to  fif 
teen — viz.,  Genoa,  Quinto,  with  Terrarossa  in  the  valley  of  Fontanabuona,  Boglias- 
co,  Chiavari,  another  Terrarossa,  Cogoleto  or  Cugureo,  Albissola,  Savona,  Oneglia, 
with  a  third  Terrarossa — all  places  or  lands  on  the  Ligurian  coast ;  and  beyond  the 
Apennines,  Casseria,  Cuccaro  ;  in  the  Montferrat,  Pradella,  near  Piacenza  ;  the  city  of 
Calvi,  in  Corsica  ;  a  place  in  France  ;  even  England.  (Tarducci.) 

Hon.  Charles  P.  Daly,  in  an  interesting  pamphlet,  "  Have  we  a  Portrait  of  Colum 
bus  ?"  states  that  the  places  claiming  to  be  the  birthplace  of  Columbus  number 
twenty-three.  From  the  same  source  we  learn  that  there  are  about  five  hundred 
alleged  portraits  of  Columbus. 


26  OLD    AND    NKW    LKiHTS 

lineage.  However  this  may  be,  his  descendants  have  now 
sensibly  preferred  to  regard  the  discoverer  of  America  as  the 
founder  of  their  family,  and  the  most  illustrious  and  proudest 
families  of  Spain  have  courted  their  alliance.  It  is  certain,  how 
ever,  that  at  the  birth  and  during  the  youth  of  Columbus  his 
family  was  in  obscure  and  poor  circumstances  ;  his  father  fol 
lowed  the  occupation  of  a  weaver  of  woollen  goods,  and  the 
illustrious  son  assisted  his  parent  in  this  humble  but  honest 
calling. 

There  is  also  a  deep  significance  in  the  name  of  the  great 
admiral,  which  in  his  native  language  was  rendered  Colombo 
and  in  Latin  Columbus,  which  signifies  a  dove,  and  his  son  and 
historian,  Fernando,  regards  this  as  marvellously  mysterious  and 
typical,  as  the  very  name  dove  was  a  token  of  his  having  been 
foreordained  to  "  carry  the  olive  branch  and  oil  of  baptism  over 
the  ocean,  like  Noah's  dove,  to  denote  the  peace  and  union  of 
the  heathen  people  with  the  Church,  after  they  had  been  shut 
up  in  the  ark  of  darkness  and  confusion."  There  is  a  further 
and  greater  significance  in  the  name  of  Christopher,  which  means 
the  Christ-bearer  in  Latin,  in  token  of  his  zeal  for  the  conversion 
of  the  Indians  to  Christianity,  and  of  his  being  the  first  Christian 
to  salute  the  new  world,  to  display  the  cross  to  its  inhabitants, 
and  to  carry  missionaries  for  their  instruction  and  conversion. 

Christopher  Columbus  was  baptized  at  the  Dominican  Church 
of  St.  Stephen,  at  Genoa.  Of  his  early  boyhood  we  know  but 
little.  His  father,  from  his  scanty  resources,  found  the  means  to 
send  his  oldest  son,  at  the  age  of  ten  years,  to  the  University  of 
Pavia,  a  fact,  as  already  mentioned,  held  in  dispute,  but  which 
the  stronger  arguments  have  well  sustained  ;  and  here  the  bright 
and  gifted  youth  availed  himself,  to  the  best  advantage,  of  the 
short  collegiate  course  of  two  years,  in  acquiring  some  knowl 
edge  of  Latin,  geometry,  geography,  astronomy,  and  naviga 
tion,  f  The  instruction  he  thus  received  gave  him  but  a  faint 
glimpse  at  sciences  which,  however,  in  after  life,  his  energy,  his 
intellectual  powers,  his  ambition,  and  his  indomitable  persever- 


*  Fernando  Colon,  "  Historia  del  Almirante,"  chaps,  i  and  2. 

f  The  extent  of  the  admiral's  education  is  a  much-disputed  question.  The  Univer 
sity  of  Pavia  claims  him  as  an  alumnus  ;  has  erected  a  monument  there  to  commemo 
rate  that  fact;  and,  in  recognition  of  it,  a  small  portion  of  his  relics  has  been  sent 
there. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  2/ 

ance  enabled  him  to  acquire  and  apply  to  a  degree  that  made 
him  quite  early  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  his  age,  and  a  leader 
of  thought,  study,  and  action  in  the  most  important  events  in  the 
history*  of  mankind.*  At  the  age  of  twelve  years,  such  was  his 
poverty,  he  returned  to  the  humble  suburban  home  of  his  father, 
and  assisted  him  at  his  business  as  weaver  of  woollen  goods.  It 
was  greatly  to  the  credit  of  the  young  Columbus  that  he  steadily 
assisted  his  father  in  his  useful  avocation,  but  his  brief  yet  studi 
ous  education  had  inspired  him  with  loftier  and  more  important 
aspirations.  His  family  was,  as  is  alleged,  of  honorable  descent, 
and  he  himself  had  acquired  no  inconsiderable  knowledge  of  the 
practical  sciences,  which  he  wished  to  make  the  stepping-stones 
to  his  own  and  his  family's  advancement,  and  "  in  which,"  says 
Prescott,  "  he  subsequently  excelled."  It  is  claimed  by  his  son, 
Fernando,  that  he  spent  two  years  in  study  at  the  University  of 
Pavia,  and  Las  Casas  repeats  the  statement  on  the  authority  of 
Fernando  ;  but  the  fact  is  strenuously  disputed  by  many  astute 
historians  and  critics, f  while  others  have  conceded  the  fact.:}: 

He  was  a  youth  of  uncommon  promise.  His  native  city  of 
Genoa  was  a  centre  of  commercial  enterprise  and  of  maritime 
adventure  ;  but  as  it  was  surrounded  by  lofty  and  rugged  moun 
tains,  and  looked  only  toward  the  sea,  it  afforded  no  inland 
field  for  youthful  adventure  in  the  case  of  so  gifted  a  boy.  The 
Mediterranean  Sea  was  the  field  for  brave  exploits  and  bold  ad 
ventures.  Commerce  and  war  in  those  days  went  hand  in  hand 
together  ;  piracy  still  prevailed,  and  was  almost  legalized,  or  at 
least  connived  at  and  openly  practised.  A  state  of  war  was  the 


*  The  following  passage  from  the  Dublin  Review  for  April,  1893,  will  prove  inter 
esting  as  suggesting  new  or  divergent  views  in  regard  to  events  in  the  life  of  Colum 
bus  which  have  been  much  discussed.  It  is  a  notice  of  Mariana  Monteno's  "  Chris 
topher  Columbus."  "  It  records  the  chief  events  in  the  life  of  the  great  discoverer,  as 
we  have  been  accustomed  to  understand  them,  and  without  reference  to  modern  criti 
cism — e.g.,  it  states  that  Columbus  was  educated  at  Pavia  ;  Father  Knight  says 
Padua,  and  Markham  maintains  that  he  was  not  educated  at  either  university,  but  at 
the  weaver's  school  at  Genoa.  Again,  in  the  matter  of  the  marriage  of  Columbus,  the 
authoress  follows  the  older  accounts,  whereas  some  modern  writers  maintain  that  the 
first  wife  of  Columbus  was  not  Dofia  Perestrello,  daughter  of  the  Governor  of  Porto 
Santo,  but  another  lady  by  the  name  of  Moniz"  (p.  487).  We  will  show  that  she  bore 
both  names. 

f  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  H.  F.  Brownson's  translation,  vol.  i.,  p.  13. 

\  Winsor's  "  Columbus,"  etc.,  p.  79. 


28  OLD   AND   XKW    LIGHTS 

normal  condition  of  the  sea-bordering  countries.  What  exploits 
could  be  more  fascinating  to  a  gallant  and  noble  youth,  than 
encounters  with  these  reckless  marauders  and  highwaymen  of 
the  sea  ! 

Even  religion  entered  into  this  strange  and  interesting  belliger 
ency,  for  the  Mediterranean  was  then  infested  by  Mohammedan 
corsairs.  The  expeditions  of  Christian  merchantmen  always  went 
to  sea  with  warlike  armaments  suited  for  encounters  with  these 
enemies  of  the  cross,  and  the  mariners  were  accoutred  with  per 
sonal  arms  for  hand-to-hand  encounters  with  these  desperate  fol 
lowers  of  the  Prophet. 

The  Columbuses,  though  perhaps  of  various  stocks,  were,  in 
fact,  mostly  a  seafaring  family.  At  this  time  two  Colombos 
were  famous  for  maritime  and  naval  exploits  :  the  rugged  and 
hardy  old  admiral,  who  is  represented  to  have  been  a  bold  and 
adventurous  seaman  and  warrior,  ready  to  encounter  either  the 
enemies  of  his  country  or  of  his  faith,  and  fond  of  fighting  on  the 
sea  as  a  vocation  ;  and  his  nephew,  Colombo  the  younger,  who 
was  distinguished  in  the  same  field  of  perilous  adventure.  Chris 
topher  Columbus  is  said  to  have  served  under  both  of  them. 
Such  was  the  reputed  school  which  was  to  prepare  a  future 
admiral,  if  much  credence  is  to  be  given  to  uncertain  details  and 
romantic  narrative,  for  his  subsequent  career  of  unparalleled  dis 
covery  and  brilliant  achievement. 

At  an  early  age  Columbus,  influenced  by  the  prevailing  and 
growing  tastes  of  the  age,  manifested  a  decided  inclination  for  a 
seafaring  and  maritime  life.  His  earliest  studies,  and  especially 
his  two  years  of  university  training,  were  directed  and  shaped 
so  as  to  promote  and  cultivate  this  inclination  and  prepare  him 
for  the  sea,  for  in  those  days  the  only  course  that  led  to  distinc 
tion  and  success  was  one  of  maritime  adventure.  The  sciences 
of  geometry,  geography,  astronomy,  and  navigation,  with  which 
he  followed  up  his  earlier  and  more  elementary  studies,  were 
of  sufficient  depth  to  enable  him  in  after  life  to  become  distin 
guished  in  those  sciences,  and  also  to  make  a  skilful  practical  use 
and  application  of  them.  The  humbler  yet  important  study  of 
drawing  was  kindred  to  these,  and  possessed  in  his  case  a  special 
significance,  as  it  enabled  him  to  become  a  map-maker  of  unusual 
skill,  and  thus  earn  a  scanty  subsistence  during  the  long  years  oi 
disappointment  and  rebuff  he  spent  in  waiting  upon  the  courts  of 


ON   COLUMBUS.  29 

Portugal  and  Spain  ;  and  this  assisted  him  in  those  cosmographi- 
cal  studies  which  formed  a  prominent  part  in  the  great  work  of 
self-education  which  he  so  eminently  accomplished.  These 
studies  were  enthusiastically  followed  by  him  from  his  youth, 
and  such  was  his  regard  for  them  that,  after  he  had  achieved  his 
great  discovery,  he  claimed,  and  even  so  stated  in  one  of  his 
letters  from  the  West  Indies  to  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  that 
his  youthful  and  ardent  love  for  nautical  and  other  kindred 
studies,  at  so  early  an  age,  had  marked  him  out  from  his  birth  as 
the  one  foreordained  by  Heaven  to  reveal  to  mankind  the  exist 
ence  of  the  Western  Continent,  and  the  true  shape  and  size  of  the 
earth.  Inspired  by  the  prevailing  tastes  of  the  age,  and  impelled 
by  his  own  ardent  enthusiasm,  Columbus  became  a  sailor  at  the 
age  of  fourteen. 

Of  the  early  voyages  of  Columbus  we  have  some  accounts, 
which,  however,  are  too  meagre  and  confused  to  satisfy  our  cu 
riosity  as  to  the  first  practical  and  earnest  endeavors  of  our  young 
seaman  in  a  career,  which  afterward  gave  fame  and  splendor  to 
his  name,  or  to  gratify  our  desires  to  know  and  study  the  details 
of  those  experiences  and  conflicts  with  men  and  floods,  which 
formed  his  more  advanced  education  for  the  career  of  usefulness 
and  renown  he  was  destined  to  accomplish.  The  famous  ad 
mirals  of  that  day  were  claimed  by  the  admiral's  son,  Fernando, 
as  relatives  and  as  instructors  of  his  father  ;  but  more  reliable 
accounts  show  them  to  have  been  Frenchmen.  Yet  even  the 
admiral  himself  in  after  life  said  he  was  not  the  first  admiral  of 
his  family.  But  while  the  admiral  no  doubt  served  under 
Colombo  the  younger,  because  Genoa  and  France  were  then  in 
alliance,  many  authors  suppose  that  he  served  also  under  the 
elder  Colombo,  who  was  then  prominent  in  the  maritime  an 
nals  of  that  day  as  a  brave  and  hardy  commander,  who  sometimes 
led  a  squadron  of  his  own  and  at  others  commanded  in  naval  ex 
peditions  of  the  Genoese  Government,  from  which  he  is  sup 
posed,  though  doubtfully,  to  have  held  an  admiral's  commission. 
The  Mediterranean  in  those  days  was  the  scene  of  tumultuous 
adventure  and  perilous  encounter.  A  voyage  in  those  days, 
even  in  the  should-be  peaceful  prosecution  of  trade,  was  hazard 
ous  and  daring,  for  the  sea  was  then  frequented  by  roving  adven 
turers  and  reckless  freebooters  of  every  kind.  The  commerce 
of  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa  was  subject  to  constant  depredations 


30  OLD   AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

of  pirates,  and  the  ships  of  commerce  had  to  protect  themselves 
Ijy  force  of  arms  and  to  fight  their  way.  Thus  they  resembled 
warlike  expeditions  rather  than  amicable  ships  of  trade.  The 
navies  of  rival  Italian  States  then  openly  depredated  on  the  com 
merce  of  their  neighbors.  The  States  bordering  on  the  Mediter 
ranean  made  this  the  seat  of  their  naval  wars,  which  were  mostly 
piratical.  Even  private  noblemen  and  wealthy  families  main 
tained  a  sort  of  feudal  sovereignty  over  their  retainers,  and  not 
only  supported  military  equipments  on  land,  but  also  miniature 
navies  at  sea. 

The  rude  and  reckless  expeditions  and  ships  of  the  Catalonians 
also  constituted  a  bold  feature  in  the  naval  life  of  the  times,  and 
even  private  individuals  fitted  out  ships  of  their  own,  with  which 
they  either  accepted  service  from  some  belligerent  or  openly 
roved  over  the  waters  of  the  Mediterranean  as  pirates  in  search  of 
plunder.  But  one  of  the  most  startling  and  interesting  features 
in  these  commingling  and  disordered  scenes  was  the  Moham 
medan  expeditions  by  sea,  which  sought  encounter  with  Chris 
tian  navies  or  plundered  the  merchant  ships  of  the  Christian 
countries.  To  go  in  pursuit  of  these  godless  depredators  and 
assailants  of  everything  that  was  Christian  was  deemed  an  act 
of  religious  merit,  and  blessings  and  spiritual  privileges  accom 
panied  the  pious  and  zealous  Christian  sailors,  who  embarked  in 
such  holy  warfare.  It  was  amid  such  scenes  and  exploits  that 
the  character  and  prowess  of  Columbus  were  moulded  and 
trained. 

Of  one  of  the  early  services  of  Columbus,  supposed  by  some 
to  have  been  performed  under  the  old  Admiral  Colombo,  but 
more  probably  under  the  younger,  we  have  interesting  but 
doubtful  accounts.  In  1459  John  of  Anjou,  Duke  of  Calabria, 
equipped  a  naval  expedition,  which  sailed  from  Genoa  against 
the  city  of  Naples,  its  purpose  being  to  reconquer  that  kingdom 
for  the  duke's  father,  King  Reinier,  Count  of  Provence  ;  and  as 
Genoa  became  his  ally,  the  old  Admiral  Colombo  joined  the 
expedition,  and  young  Christopher  Columbus,  it  is  claimed, 
served  under  him  with  distinguished  gallantry  and  courage. 
The  expedition  was  unsuccessful,  indeed,  unfortunate,  as  few  of 
the  ships  were  left  ;  but  it  was  of  great  service  in  educating  and 
inuring  to  severe  service  and  tests  of  character  the  future  dis 
coverer.  He  relates  of  himself  an  incident  which  occurred  dur- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  3! 

ing  this  naval  expedition,  and  which  is  worthy  of  reproduction, 
as  it  throws  light  upon  characteristic  expedients  which  he  re 
sorted  to  in  his  first  voyage  of  discovery  to  America,  many 
years  later.  King  Reinier  gave  orders  to  our  young  captain, 
who  commanded  a  vessel  in  the  expedition,  to  sail  to  Tunis  and 
capture  the  galley  Fernandina,  which  was  represented  to  be 
there  alone  and  without  protection.  Columbus  gladly  accepted 
the  task,  but  when  his  vessel  reached  the  island  of  St.  Pedro,  in 
Sardinia,  he  learned,  to  the  consternation  of  his  crew,  that  the 
Fernandina  had  for  consorts  two  ships  and  a  carrack,  whereupon 
the  frightened  crew  refused  to  proceed  to  the  encounter,  though 
their  gallant  young  captain  only  yearned  for  the  attack  ;  and 
they  insisted  on  returning  to  Marseilles  for  reinforcements  of 
ships  and  men.  Columbus,  who  was  powerless  to  compel  them, 
seemed  to  acquiesce  in  their  determination,  and  spreading  all 
sail,  orders  were  issued  accordingly  ;  but  Columbus  secretly 
altered  the  point  of  the  compass,  and  next  morning,  instead  of 
finding  themselves  sailing  for  Marseilles,  the  crew  found  that  he 
had  piloted  the  ship  within  the  Cape  of  Carthagena.  When  we 
come  to  relate  the  history  of  Columbus's  first  voyage  across  the 
Atlantic,  we  will  have  occasion  to  show  how,  by  the  stratagem 
of  altering  the  reckoning  of  the  log-book,  he  deluded  his  rebel 
lious  crew  as  to  the  distance  they  had  sailed  from  Palos,  and 
thus  secured  a  continuance  of  that  momentous  voyage  until  the 
sight  of  land  soon  gladdened  the  hearts  of  all. 

For  several  years  Columbus,  according  to  current  accounts, 
more  or  less  unreliable,  continued  to  follow  the  sea,  and  to  render 
gallant  and  intrepid  service  either  in  the  employ  of  the  Genoese 
Government  or  as  captain  of  a  vessel  under  the  leadership  of 
the  renowned  old  captains  of  his  name,  uncle  and  nephew,  the 
latter  of  whom  also  gained  great  notoriety  as  a  reckless  and 
daring  corsair,  whose  name  was  a  terror  to  the  Mohammedans  ; 
and  it  is  said  that  disobedient  children  in  Moorish  families  were 
frightened  by  their  mothers  into  subjection  and  obedience  by 
the  very  mention  of  the  name  of  Colombo.  After  Christopher 
Columbus  became  famous  as  the  discoverer  of  America,  and  his 
torians  ransacked  every  annal  and  reports  of  the  past  for  inci 
dents  of  his  life  during  this  earlier  and  obscurer  portion  of  his 
active  career,  some  of  the  reckless  and  even  questionable  deeds 
of  the  elder  and  of  the  younger  Colombos  were,  in  the  confusion 


32  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

of  the  annals,  attributed  to  Christopher  Columbus.  Great  ob 
scurity  and  confusion  prevail  in  the  accounts  of  events  and  dates 
on  the  career  and  life  of  Columbus  from  1450  to  1470,  the  period 
of  his  seafaring  life.  We  come  now  to  his  advent  and  residence 
in  Portugal,  upon  which  we  hope  to  throw  some  new  light. 

The  circumstances  or  motives  which  led  Columbus  to  go  to 
Portugal  have  been  variously  assigned.  Fernando,  his  second 
son,  who  wrote  the  first  history  of  his  father,  with  evident  and 
recurring  pleasure  taken  in  linking  his  name  with  the  adventures 
at  sea  of  the  two  French  commanders,  Colombo,  relates  that 
shipwreck  off  the  coast  of  Portugal  was  the  first  cause  of  his 
father's  advent  to  Lisbon.  This  account  would  attribute  to 
chance  one  of  the  most  important  steps  ever  taken  by  Columbus, 
but  it  is  not  well  authenticated,  and  other  more  probable  and 
reasonable  causes  for  his  going  to  Lisbon  are  not  wanting.  Co 
lumbus  acted  with  a  purpose  in  this,  as  in  the  other  great  events 
of  his  life. 

The  most  usual  time  assigned  for  the  advent  of  Christopher 
Columbus  to  Portugal  is  1470.  It  certainly  was  between  1470 
and  1474.  If  we  take  the  former  year,  1470,  he  evidently  did 
not  then  make  Lisbon  or  the  Portuguese  possessions  his  per 
manent  home,  since  we  find  him  at  Savona  with  his  father  in  1472 
and  1473.  Documents  published  by  Harrisse,  in  his  ' '  Chris- 
tophe  Colomb, "  *  to  which  the  name  of  Christopher  Columbus 
is  signed,  together  with  those  of  his  mother  and  next  brother, 
Giovanni,  relinquishing  all  their  right  to  a  house  and  lot  then 
sold  by  the  father,  Dominico  Colombo,  show  this. 

In  these  documents,  of  which  the  last  is  dated  August  7th, 
1473,  or  at  least  in  the  earlier  ones,  the  signature  of  Columbus 
is  followed,  according  to  the  Genoese  custom,  with  his  occupa 
tion,  which  was  stated  as  that  of  a  weaver  of  woollen  goods, 
which  was  the  trade  of  most  of  the  members  of  the  Columbus 
family. f 

The  occurrence  of  the  name  of  Columbus  in  legal  documents 
at  Genoa  and  Savona,  during  the  years  generally  included  in  the 


*  Harrisse's  "  Christophe  Colomb,"  torn,  ii.,  pp.  419-26. 

f  "The  Wife  of  Columbus,"  1873,  by  M.  Nicolau  Florentino  (whose  real  name  is 
Senhor  Gabriel  Pereira.  Director  of  the  National  Library  of  Lisbon)  and  Senhora 
Regina  Maney,  a  valuable  contribution  to  Columbian  literature,  and  one  based  upon 
authentic  archives  and  documents. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  33 

seafaring  period  of  his  life,  would  indicate  that  he  was  occasion* 
ally  if  not  frequently  at  home  during  that  period  with  his  father  ; 
that  his  profession,  as  given,  was  more  or  less  continuously  dur 
ing  those  years  that  of  a  weaver  of  woollen  goods,  and  hence 
that  probably  his  exploits  at  sea  were  not  so  constant  or  so  long 
as  his  son  Fernando  had  been  led  to  believe  and  to  relate.  It  is 
probable  that  Columbus  commenced  his  visits  to  Portugal  in 
1470,  and  went  to  stay  in  the  latter  part  of  1473,  for  it  is  nearly 
certain  that  he  went  to  the  island  of  Madeira,  a  leading  Portu 
guese  possession,  in  or  prior  to  1474.*  The  occasion  of  his 
going  to  Portugal  was  not  accident  or  battle  or  shipwreck,  but 
it  was  in  pursuit  of  occupation  and  fortune,  as  many  other  Italians 
had  done  and  were  then  doing.  During  the  period  of  Portuguese 
leadership  in  maritime  enterprise,  there  was  a  considerable  immi 
gration  of  French  and  Italians  to  Portugal  ;  and  as  the  latter  now 
only  concern  us,  the  names  of  the  Spinolas,  Cezares,  Uzadamari, 
Cataneos,  Lomellinos,  Dorias,  Grimaldi,  and  many  others  will 
testify.  But  his  own  name  and  blood  preceded  him  to  Portugal, 
for  when  he  went  to  Lisbon  he  found  his  brother  Bartholomew 
there,  and  this,  no  doubt,  had  added  strength  to  his  motives  for 
going,  for  the  two  brothers  were  devoted  to  each  other  through 
out  their  eventful  lives.  Independently  of  these  considerations, 
Lisbon,  at  that  time  especially,  was  the  centre  of  maritime  energy, 
enterprise,  and  adventure,  and  offered  great  attractions  to  one  of 
Columbus's  temperament,  who  had  followed  the  sea  from  the 
age  of  fourteen,  and  whose  mind  was  fired  with  the  ambition  for 
discovery  and  renown.  The  enthusiastic  study  of  the  art  of 
navigation,  the  bold  pursuit  of  discovery,  and  the  love  of  adven 
ture,  had  passed  from  Lisbon  to  other  countries,  and  as  Colum 
bus,  flushed  with  a  gallant  career  at  sea,  studious  of  maritime 
sciences,  emulous  of  rivalling  the  great  discoveries  of  Portuguese 
mariners  and  captains,  perhaps,  even  probably,  then  meditating 
on  his  plans  for  a  westward  voyage,  was  alive  to  the  spirit  of 
his  age  and  country,  he  very  naturally  followed  so  many  of  his 
own  countrymen  and  his  own  brother  to  that  busy  capital.  It 
was  greatly  to  his  credit  that  after  so  many  years  of  active  ser 
vice  at  sea,  and  after  .such  continuous  exposure  to  the  vices  so 
prevalent  among  seafaring  men,  Columbus  escaped  moral  con- 


"  The  Wife  of  Columbus,"  by  Nicolau  Florentine  and  Regina  Maney,  pp.  43,  44. 


34  OLD   AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

lamination,  and  preserved  his  purity  of  character  and  a  highly 
religious  and  devout  demeanor.  He  was  twenty-four  years 
old  when  he  first  visited  Portugal  in  14/0.  It  would  seem  that 
he  did  not  linger  long  at  Lisbon,  but  followed  many  of  his 
countrymen  to  the  Portuguese  Islands,  those  advanced  posts  of 
Portuguese  enterprise  and  discovery. 

The  researches  made  by  Senhor  Gabriel  Pereira,  Director  of 
the  National  Library  at  Lisbon,  and  by  his  associate  in  the  work, 
Senhora  Regina  Maney,  among  official  and  authentic  archives,— 
the  Torre  de  Tombo,  national  archives  at  Lisbon — the  results  of 
which  they  have  embodied  in  their  interesting  little  volume,*  just 
published,  seem  to  justify  essential  changes  in  the  oft-repeated 
accounts  given  of  the  first  marriage  of  Columbus.  Up  to  this 
time  historians  have  uniformly  related  that  this  marriage  occurred 
at  Lisbon,  and  that  the  acquaintance  between  Columbus  and 
Donna  Philippa  Moniz  de  Perestrello  commenced  at  the  chapel 
of  the  Convent  of  All  Saints,  where  he  was  in  the  habit  of  attend 
ing  mass  daily,  and  where  the  young  lady  was  one  of  several  of 
her  age  and  rank  who,  while  living  in  the  world,  were  regular 
attendants  of  the  convent,  probably  for  purposes  of  education  as 
well  as  of  devotion.  Senhora  Maney,  in  her  preface  to  ' '  The  Wife 
of  Columbus,"  declares  that  she  and  the  Director  of  the  National 
Library  of  Lisbon  had  been  able  to  discover  among  the  national 
archives  a  different  history  of  this  interesting  event,  and  I  have 
embodied  their  account  of  it  in  this  work.  '  We  have  estab 
lished,"  she  says,  "the  time  and  place  of  his  marriage,  along 
with  other  data,  and  we  have  found  much  about  Columbus  that 
is  entirely  new." 

The  families  of  Moniz  and  Perestrello  were  both  of  distin 
guished  lineage  in  Portugal.  The  Monizes  were  of  noble  rank. 
Bartholomew  Perestrello,  the  father  of  Donna  Philippa,  the  first 
wife  of  Columbus,  left  early  without  a  father,  obtained  when 
very  young  a  position  in  the  household  of  the  Infante  Dom  John, 
who  was  in  his  earlier  life  united  with  his  brother,  the  famous 
Prince  Henry  the  Navigator.  He  was  afterward  created  a 
knight  in  the  household  of  the  Infante  Dom  John,  and  still  later 
he  received  a  grant  at  his  own  request  of  the  island  of  Porto 
Santo,  and  undertook  its  colonization.  He  does  not  appear  to 


"  The  Wife  of  Columbus,"  by  Florentine  and  Maney,  passim. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  35 

have  been  its  discoverer,  or  even  to  have  been  a  companion  in 
that  maritime  achievement  of  Gongalves  Zarco  and  Tristan  Vaz 
in  its  discovery.  He  was  married  three  times  ;  his  first  wife 
was  Donna  Margarida  Martins  ;  his  second  wife  was  Donna 
Brites  Furtado  de  Mendonc,a,  and  his  third  wife  was  Donna 
Isabel  Moniz,  daughter  of  Vasco  Martins  Moniz,  who,  after  an 
active  and  successful  career,  had  retired  with  large  wealth  to 
Machico,  on  the  island  of  Madeira,  where  he  lived  in  "  grand 
style"  and  dispensed  a  liberal  hospitality.  Donna  Isabel,  when 
she  married  Bartholomew  Perestrello,  was  only  eighteen  years 
old,  and  she  then  left  the  luxurious  and  wealthy  home  of  her 
father  to  share  the  declining  fortunes  of  a  gentleman  of  worth, 
energy,  and  enterprise,  but  to  whom  Porto  Santo  had  proved  a 
fatal  gift,  Bartholomew  Perestrello.  The  governorship  of  this 
island  had  already  sunk  the  portions  of  two  wives,  and  all  the 
donations  he  could  get  from  the  crown  for  the  purchase  of  fer 
tilizers,  agricultural  implements,  stock,  equipments,  and  the  as 
sistance  necessarily  extended  to  his  colonists.  It  now  absorbed 
the  portion  if  any  o.f  his  third  wife  ;  the  rabbits,  which  had 
marvellously  increased  on  the  island,  destroyed  its  productions, 
and  the  governor's  health  now  gave  way  under  the  losses, 
struggles,  disappointments,  and  ruin  of  many  years.  He  died  at 
Baleira,  in  1457,  at  tne  age  °f  fifty*  leaving  his  widow,  at  the  age 
of  twenty-five  years,  with  a  son  and  daughter,  and  in  circumstances 
most  precarious.  The  mother  devoted  her  life  entirely  to  the 
education  of  her  children,  Bartholomew  and  Philippa  ;  but  now, 
with  the  consent  of  King  Affonso  V.,  the  fruitless  governorship 
of  Porto  Santo  was  assigned  to  Pedro  Cor£a,  who  had  .married 
Donna  Izeu  Perestrello,  a  daughter  of  Bartholomew's  second 
marriage,  a  member  of  the  noble  family  of  Core'a.  The  price 
paid  by  Corea  for  the  island  was  three  hundred  thousand  reis 
in  gold,  and  an  annuity  of  thirty  thousand  reis.  Donna  Isabel 
Moniz,  now  relieved  from  anxiety,  retired  with  her  son  and 
daughter  to  the  sumptuous  mansion  of  her  father  at  Machico, 
and  no  care  or  expense  was  spared  in  educating  the  children 
according  to  their  rank.  Young  Bartholomew  embraced  the 
military  profession,  and  was  correspondingly  equipped  by  his 
good  mother  for  the  king's  service  in  Africa  with  everything 
suited  to  his  rank  and  aspirations  ;  but  in  1473  he  returned  to 
Porto  Santo  and  disavowed  his  mother's  disposition  of  the  island, 


36  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

and  with  the  consent  of  the  king  annulled  the  sale  to  Corea,  and 
assumed  the  task  which  had  cost  his  father  so  many  fortunes  and 
his  life.  This  ungrateful  and  undutiful  conduct  of  the  son  com 
pletely  estranged  him  from  his  mother,  who  was  now  left  at 
Machico  with  her  father  and  her  daughter  Philippa.  Although 
the  father  of  Donna  Isabel  Moniz  was  very  rich,  he  had  sixteen 
children,  and  no  trace  can  be  found  of  any  portion  of  this  fortune 
received  by  his  daughter  Isabel,  or  by  his  granddaughter  Philippa. 
The  latter  is  represented  as  very  beautiful,  and  the  social  and 
educational  advantages  she  enjoyed  must  have  made  her  quite 
accomplished. 

It  was  at  this  time,  1474,  that  Christopher  Columbus  arrived 
at  Machico  and  joined  the  Italian  colony  in  the  Portuguese  archi 
pelago.  Through  his  compatriots,  who  were  frequent  visitors 
and  guests  at  the  hospitable  mansion  of  Vasco  Moniz,  he  became 
acquainted  with  the  young  and  beautiful  Philippa,  or  perhaps  the 
story  of  his  meeting  her  at  daily  mass  at  a  convent  chapel  may 
be  transferred  to  Machico.  Although  he  was  the  son  of  a  woollen 
weaver,  and  had  followed  his  father's  calling  at  home,  he  was 
hospitably  received  by  the  noble  family  of  the  Monizes,  for  few 
if  any  there  were  among  the  young  men  of  Machico  so  hand 
some,  accomplished,  and  plausible  as  the  bold  Genoese.  He  was 
then  of  the  age  of  twenty-eight  years.  Donna  Philippa  was  only 
twenty-one.  The  interesting  little  work  from  which  these  par 
ticulars  are  mostly  derived,*  which,  however,  places  his  age  at 
thirty-eight,  thus  refers  to  Columbus  at  this  interesting  period 
of  his  checkered  career  :  "  Once  landed  in  Madeira,  the  daring 
Genoese  immediately  set  about  getting  acquainted  with  the  im 
portant  families  of  the  archipelago,  through  his  compatriots 
already  established.  He  insinuated  himself  by  his  sympathetic 
manners,  his  fluent  speech,  which  many  took  for  proof  of  great 
instruction,  and  finally  by  his  taking  advantage  of  the  fraternal 
predisposition  of  the  Portuguese  toward  the  Italian  immigrants, 
who  were  much  liked,  whether  in  the  ordinary  occupations  of 
life,  acquiring  the  good  will  of  the  chiefs  of  families,  or  in  the 
amorous  adventures  and  most  beautiful  progeny,  as  far  as  the 
young  female  portion  of  the  inhabitants  went,  who  looked  de 
spairingly  on  the  gallant  Portuguese  youth  going  off  to  Africa 


"  The  Wife  of  Columbus,"  by  Florentine  (Pereira)  and  Maney,  p.  44. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  37 

to  die  unmarried,  or  to  come  back  with  hair  whitened  by  the 
hardships  of  ocean  and  battlefield.  .  .  .  The  very  Donna 
Philippa  Moniz  de  Mello,  of  whom  it  is  said  she  was  a  very  hand 
some  young  girl,  demonstrated  the  case  in  the  alliance  of  the 
Monizes  and  Perestrellos,  already  mixed  with  the  blood  of  the 
Teixeiras  ;  and  this  rapid  sketch  of  Donna  Philippa,  made  by  a 
genealogist,  reveals  to  us  a  marriage  of  simple  affection  con 
tracted  with  Christopher  Columbus."  The  character  of  Colum 
bus  must  have  been  above  reproach  to  have  won  such  a  prize. 

Columbus  himself  was  poor.  It  is  conjectured  that  the  sale  of 
a  house  by  his  father  at  Savona,  in  1473,  was  either  the  result  of 
family  reverses  or  was  necessitated  to  provide  an  outfit  and 
traveling  expenses  for  his  sons  Christopher  and  Bartholomew. 
Married  at  Machico,  in  1475,  with  the  solemn  rites  of  the  Church, 
the  young  couple  went  immediately  to  live  in  Funchal,  "  a  resi 
dence  preferred  by  Columbus,  because  he  thus  remained  in  direct 
contact  with  the  whole  maritime  movement.  "*  No  circumstance 
could  have  been  mentioned  nor  any  step  taken  which  could  more 
clearly  have  indicated  the  deep  purposes  and  high  aspirations  of 
the  future  discoverer  of  America,  than  his  immediate  departure, 
after  his  marriage,  from  the  luxurious  mansion  of  his  wife's  grand 
father,  in  order  that  he  might  be  in  constant  touch  with  the  great 
movement  of  the  age  toward  geographical  discovery,  maritime 
enterprise,  and  heroic  conquest.  It  is  related  that  Columbus  and 
his  wife  were  poor.  The  work  of  Pereira  and  Maneyf  thus 
speaks  of  this  event  in  the  life  of  the  future  admiral  :  "  On  the 
other  hand,  what  did  Columbus  bring  from  Genoa  ?  If  anything 
came  to  him  from  the  product  of  the  sale  effected  by  his  father 
on  the  eve  of  Christopher's  departure  for  Portugal,  little  could 
be  left,  over  and  above  the  traveling  expenses,  for  his  mainte 
nance  at  the  first,  until  fortune  should  smile  upon  him  or  open 
some  way  or  other  for  earning  a  living.  The  fact  is.  that  he 
must  have  worked  hard  either  to  sustain  himself  while  alone,  or 
to  provide,  however  poorly,  for  the  indispensable  exigencies  of 
his  married  life.  Did  he  draw  sea-maps  and  charts  ?  Where 
did  he  learn  to  do  so  ?  Did  he  open  a  shop  or  a  boarding-house  ? 
Did  he  exercise  any  other  branch  of  activity  that  one  could  con 
jecture  or  discover  ?  This  is  certainly  an  important  question  for 


*  "  The  Wife  of  Columbus,"  p.  46.  f  /</.,  p.  45. 


38  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

Christopher  Columbus,  the  discoverer  of  America,  but  of  very 
secondary  order  for  Christopher  Columbus,  the  husband  of  Donna 
Philippa  Moniz  de  Mello. "  Senhor  Pereira  was  convinced  from 
his  access  to  and  study  of  the  public  archives,  as  well  as  from 
inquiries  made  of  surviving  members  of  the  Perestrello  family, 
that  few  if  any  marine  maps  or  maritime  traditions  had  been  left 
by  Bartholomew  Perestrello  to  serve  his  future  son-in-law  in  his 
vast  schemes  of  discovery,  for  he  had  never  been  a  mariner,  dis 
coverer,  or  a  follower  of  the  sea.  Neither  did  Columbus  obtain 
much  information  or  inspiration  from  his  brother-in  law,  Pedro 
Corea,  who,  according  to  these  recent  researches,  never  fixed 
his  residence  in  Porto  Santo  during  his  gubernatorial  incum 
bency,  nor  in  Graciosa,  of  which  island  he  was  also  the  donee, 
nor  was  he  a  navigator  or  an  adventurer  in  the  maritime  enter 
prises  of  the  day.  On  the  contrary,  Corea  was  a  resident  on 
his  farm  in  Charneca,  near  Lisbon,  and  died  there  in  1485.* 

The  marriage  of  Columbus  and  Philippa,  in  1475,  was  followed 
by  the  birth  of  their  son  Diego,  in  1476,  at  Funchal.  These 
facts,  which  seem  well  sustained,  go  far  to  upset  the  usual  narra 
tives  of  historians  that  Columbus  was  married  at  Lisbon,  that  his 
son  Diego  was  born  there,  and  that  he  went  with  his  wife  and 
mother-in-law  to  Porto  Santo.  According  to  the  accounts,  based 
upon  such  recent  researches,  Philippa  Moniz  de  Perestrello,  the 
wife  of  Columbus,  died  shortly  after  the  birth  of  their  son  Diego, 
who  thereupon  fell  to  the  tender  care  of  his  grandmother,  Donna 
Isabel  de  Perestrello,  who  continued  to  reside  at  the  house  of 
her  father  at  Machico.  On  this  subject  we  shall  have  more  to 
say  when  we  come  to  relate  the  circumstances  of  the  departure 
of  Columbus  from  Portugal  for  Spain.  In  the  year  following  the 
death  of  his  wife,  1477,  or  possibly  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year 
1476,  Columbus,  most  probably  to  assuage  his  grief,  divert  his 
mind,  and  to  study  further  the  great  problem  engaging  his  mind 
as  affected  by  questions  of  climate  and  latitude,  made  his  voyage 
to  Iceland,  of  which  we  will  speak  in  another  place.  The  little 
volumef  before  us,  to  which  reference  has  been  made,  thus 
speaks  of  his  departure  upon  this  important  expedition:  "The 
father,  profoundly  wounded  in  his  passionate  attachment  to  his 


*  "  The  Wife  of  Columbus,"  p.  42.  f  /</.,  p.  47- 


ON    COLUMBUS.  39 

wife,  took  one  of  those  extreme  resolutions  in  which  great  moral 
.sufferings  sometimes  end." 

The  circumstance  mentioned  by  Las  Casas  and  other  contem 
poraries  of  Columbus — that  of  his  having  had  his  hair  turn  gray 
prematurely — now  becomes  a  thread  of  testimony  in  connection 
with  the  charge  of  Harrisse  and  Winsor  that  he  deserted  his  wife 
when  he  left  Portugal  for  Spain.  At  the  time  of  his  wife's  death 
he  was  thirty  years  old,  and  the  time  assigned  by  his  contem 
porary  historians  for  his  hair  turning  gray  was  precisely  at  that 
age.  It  is,  therefore,  but  a  natural  conclusion  that  so  sudden 
and  violent  a  grief,  one  which  forced  him  to  seek  mental  relief 
in  a  trip  then  regarded  as  heroic  even  among  veteran  mariners — 
the  voyage  to  Iceland — was  the  cause  of  his  hair  turning  gray. 
Sudden  grief  or  excitement  has  frequently  been  known  to  pro 
duce  that  result.  The  death  of  his  wife  and  the  change  in  the 
color  of  his  hair  occurred  at  the  same  time.  The  ardent  temper 
ament  of  Columbus  lends  strength  to  the  conclusion. 

The  period  of  time  from  1470,  when  Columbus  first  visited 
Portugal,  to  1484,  when  it  is  generally  agreed  that  he  left  Por 
tugal,  is  one  in  which  the  greatest  confusion  exists  as  to  the  exact 
dates  of  events  in  his  life.  The  whole  period  agrees  with  the 
time  which  Columbus,  in  1505,  in  a  letter  to  King  Ferdinand, 
wrote  that  he  had  spent  in  Portugal,  in  which  he  says  that  "  God 
must  have  directed  him  into  the  service  of  Spain  by  a  kind  of 
miracle,  since  he  had  already  been  in  Portugal,  whose  king  was 
more  interested  than  any  other  sovereign  in  making  discoveries, 
and  yet  God  closed  his  eyes,  his  ears,  and  all  his  senses  to  such 
a  degree  that  in  fourteen  years  Columbus  could  not  prevail  on 
him  to  lend  aid  to  his  scheme."  This  eventful  but  confused 
period  covered  many  events  which  are  no  doubt  true,  but  with 
out  correct  dates.  He  landed  in  Portugal  in  1470,  visited  his 
father  at  Savona  in  1472  and  1473,  took  part  in  engagements  at 
sea  under  the  French  Colombos,  corresponded  with  Dr.  Tosca- 
nelli  in  1474,  went  to  Madeira  in  1474,  was  married  to  Donna 
Philippa  de  Perestrello  in  1475,  witnessed  the  birth  of  his  son 
Diego  and  the  death  of  the  mother  in  1476,  went  to  Iceland  in 
1477,  and  on  his  return  therefrom  made  one  or  more  expeditions 
to  the  Portuguese  islands  or  stations  on  the  mainland  of  Africa, 
and  during  the  remainder  of  the  time  was  engaged  in  unceasing 
and  wearisome  negotiations  with  the  King  of  Portugal  for  the 


40  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

adoption  of  his  plans  for  a  westward  voyage  across  the  Atlantic. 
Owing  to  the  uncertainty  of  the  dates  of  this  period,  we  have 
treated  the  various  subjects  without  strict  adherence  to  the  sup 
posed  dates,  aiming  rather  at  presenting  the  character,  studies, 
efforts,  struggles,  and  aspirations  of  Columbus  as  essential  events 
in  themselves,  rather  than  attempting,  as  so  many  others  have 
tried  in  vain,  to  reconcile  dates  or  arrive  at  correctness.  Hence 
our  accounts  of  his  studies,  inquiries,  investigations,  self-prepara 
tions,  and  the  formulation  of  his  plans,  may  relate  to  periods  of 
sojourn  either  in  Lisbon  or  at  Funchal,  for  it  seems  probable,  if 
not  certain,  that  he  may  have  gone  back  to  Lisbon  several  times 
between  1474  and  1477. 

It  was  in  the  heated  atmosphere  of  nautical  and  scientific 
studies,  of  naval  adventure,  and  of  pioneer  discovery,  at  Lisbon 
or  at  Funchal,  that  the  mind  of  Columbus  caught  fire  with  the 
prevailing  fever.  While  it  is  not  known  at  what  precise  time  his 
theories  and  convictions,  as  to  the  existence  of  western  lands  and 
continents,  were  conceived  and  matured,  or  his  ambition  to 
become  the  discoverer  of  a  new  world  was  awakened,  such  were 
the  attractions  and  influences  of  the  scene  and  of  the  times,  and 
such  his  opportunity  of  comparative  repose  and  studious  inclina 
tion,  in  the  intervals  between  his  voyages,  that  this  period  of  his 
residence  at  Lisbon  would  seem  to  have  been  the  crucial  time, 
which  developed  the  grand  schemes  he  afterward  accomplished 
for  the  glory  and  benefit  of  mankind.  This  view  is  strengthened 
by  authentic  facts.  His  wife's  mother,  accustomed  as  she  had 
been  to  scenes  and  narratives  of  adventure  and  discovery  in  her 
married  life,  and  finding  in  her  son-in-law  an  enthusiastic  listener 
and  ardent  student  of  such  subjects,  took  pleasure  in  relating  to 
him  all  she  had  heard  from  her  deceased  husband  concerning  cur 
rent  voyages,  expeditions,  colonization,  and  discoveries.  Thus, 
too,  Columbus  was  afforded-ample  opportunity  and  time  for  in 
specting  and  studying  the  papers,  charts,  journals,  and  memoranda 
of  the  old  and  experienced  navigators  and  mariners  he  must  have 
met  at  Funchal,  which  proved  to  him  a  rich  mine  of  nautical  and 
maritime  treasures  and  information.  His  residence  and  marriage 
in  Portugal  and  the  Portuguese  possessions  made  him  a  resident 
subject  of  the  king  of  that  country,  and,  as  Portugal  was  then 
the  leading  nation  in  discovery  and  colonization,  thus  acquiring 
the  islands  in  the  Atlantic  and  along  the  west  coast  of  Africa, 


OX   COLUMBUS.  41 

Columbus  served  occasionally  in  the  Portuguese  expeditions  to 
and  along  the  coast  of  Guinea.  These  studies  and  voyages,  and, 
still  more,  the  deeper  researches  which  he  made  in  the  practical 
sciences,  especially  the  science  of  navigation  and  its  kindred 
sciences,  raised  him  to  a  foremost  rank  among  enlightened  and 
learned  men  of  his  day.  Indeed,  as  the  sequel  will  show,  he  was 
centuries  in  advance  of  the  times  in  which  he  lived.  Cosmog 
raphy  became  a  leading  study  and  favorite  science  of  his,  and 
in  his  straitened  circumstances  he  turned  it  to  good  and  fruit 
ful  account,  during  the  intervals  between  his  voyages,  by  making 
maps  and  charts  for  a  livelihood.  We  have  already  related  how 
slight  had  been  the  advances  made  by  the  scientific  world  in 
cosmography  since  the  days  of  Ptolemy,  who  prepared  his 
famous  map  of  the  known  world  at  Alexandria  about  the  middle 
of  the  second  century  of  the  Christian  era  ;  and  this  map,  con 
sidered  the  most  perfect,  like  all  the  other  maps  produced  then, 
was,  in  the  light  of  our  present  knowledge,  a  tissue  of  errors  and 
absurdities.  Such,  too,  was  the  map  brought  by  Marco  Polo 
from  Cathay,  and  such  the  celebrated  map  of  Mauro,  the  Italian 
friar,  scarcely  more  than  an  improved  copy  of  the  former,  which, 
however,  gained  for  him  from  the  Venetians  the  title  of  the  "  in 
comparable  cosmographer,"  and  the  distinction  of  a  medal  struck 
in  his  honor.  Yet  during  all  this  period,  and  throughout  the 
fifteenth  century,  the  most  perfect  maps,  by  the  most  learned 
cosmographers,  were  absurdly  incorrect  and  ludicrously  quaint. 
The  studies  and  voyages  of  then  recent  times,  and  the  explora 
tions  of  the  Portuguese  and  Spaniards  along  the  western  coast 
of  Africa  and  around  the  islands  adjacent  thereto,  had  tended  to 
lift  the  science  of  geography  out  of  the  chaos  and  darkness  of 
centuries.  Even  yet,  in  the  days  of  Columbus,  the  map  of 
Ptolemy  was  among  the  foremost  authorities  of  the  time.  In 
many  of  the  maps  conjecture  boldly  supplied  the  place  of  knowl 
edge,  and  popular  fables  of  the  most  incongruous  character  were 
handed  down  and  accepted  in  an  age  of  advancing  intelligence. 
Learning  and  ignorance  were  here  strangely  and  grotesquely 
commingled.  Able  disquisitions  on  astronomy  and  navigation 
were  set  off  with  the  fables  of  monsters,  such  as  men  with  the  bod 
ies  of  lions  and  women  with  the  faces  of  dogs,  salamanders,  giants, 
pigmies,  and  sea  monsters  so  large  as  to  kill  and  devour  large 
stags  and  able  to  cross  the  ocean.  Here  we  have  the  origin  of 


42  OLD    AM)    NEW    LIGHTS 

the  sea  monster,  which  figures  even  in  our  day  in  the  stories  and 
yarns  of  mariners  and  seamen.  The  study  of  drawing,  which 
Columbus  had  pursued  at  the  University  of  Pavia,  though  slight, 
now  came  to  his  aid,  and  enabled  him,  with  his  thorough  and 
advanced  knowledge  of  cosmography,  to  produce  the  best  maps 
and  charts.  Another  fact  which  added  greatly  to  his  knowledge 
of  this  subject,  the  most  engrossing  study  of  that  age  of  nautical 
adventure  and  geographical  discovery,  was  his  correspondence 
with  Dr.  Paulo  Toscanelli,  of  Florence,  who  was  one  of  the  fore 
most  scientists  of  his  age,  and  the  most  accomplished  cosmog- 
rapher.  And  here  we  might  cite  this  remarkable  correspond 
ence,  which  commenced  in  the  early  part  of  his  visits  and 
sojourns  at  Lisbon  after  1470,  as  further  proof  of  our  view  that 
it  was  during  this  early  period  of  the  life  of  Columbus  that 
he  conceived  and  developed  his  grand  and  learned  propositions 
and  plans,  which  led  him  to  the  discovery  of  our  continent.  Thus 
it  was  that  during  his  sojourn  at  Lisbon,  Columbus,  rich  in  learn 
ing,  science,  religion,  and  exalted  purposes,  but  poor  in  worldly 
goods,  was  compelled  to  practise  the  most  unsparing  economy  ; 
and  it  was  during  this  period  that  he  supported  himself  by  pre 
paring  and  disposing  of  maps  and  charts  of  the  earth.  Such  was 
the  avidity  with  which  good  and  accurate  maps  were  sought  in 
those  days,  that  Columbus  made  this  his  entire  source  of  revenue 
and  support.  Such  was  his  honorable  and  generous  nature  that, 
from  his  scanty  and  pinching  income,  he  spared  the  means  to 
relieve  the  necessities  of  his  venerable  parent  at  Genoa,  and  to 
educate  his  younger  brother,  Diego,  in  whose  subsequent  love, 
loyalty,  and  service,  and  to  a  greater  extent  in  those  of  Bartholo 
mew,  he  found  consolation  amid  the  calumnies  of  men  and  the 
ingratitude  of  sovereigns. 

Columbus  won  position  among  the  learned  and  scientific  men 
of  his  day  by  his  admirable  maps,  to  the  production  of  which  he 
brought  the  most  advanced  cosmographical  study  and  the  skill 
of  an  accomplished  draughtsman.  His  labors  ia  this  congenial, 
and  to  him  then  most  useful  and  necessary  avocation,  were 
greatly  aided  and  stimulated  by  numerous  and  important  voy 
ages  which  he  made  during  this  time.  The  whole  circle  of 
Columbus's  acquaintance  was  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  spirit 
of  the  age.  The  Portuguese  court  and  nation  were  foremost. 
The  Portuguese  islands  in  the  Eastern  Pacific  were  recent  in- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  43 

stances  of  progress  in  discovery  and  geography,  for  they  lay 
on  the  very  frontiers  of  the  then  known  world.  They  were  on  the 
ocean  highway  of  the  frequent  and  important  voyages  between 
the  coast  of  Guinea  and  the  ports  of  Portugal.  Columbus  and 
all  his  connections  and  associates  were  seafaring  people,  and 
hence  they  unavoidably,  and  indeed  from  choice,  fell  in  with  the 
experienced  and  veteran  sea  captains  and  navigators,  who  con 
stantly  touched  at  Funchal  or  Machico  in  their  cruises  to  the 
western  coast  of  Africa.  These  circumstances  and  others  of  a 
similar  character,  which  we  will  relate  hereafter,  are  most  im 
portant  facts,  for  it  was  such  surroundings  at  Lisbon  that  gave 
confirmation  in  the  mind  of  Columbus  to  the  great  thought  of 
western  continental  discovery,  and  fostered  that  exalted  concep 
tion  until  it  culminated  in  the  noblest  achievement  of  man.  They 
formed  the  more  immediate  education  which  prepared  the  man 
for  his  mission,  and  are  second  only  to  the  great  conception  itself 
and  its  realization  in  the  final  triumph.  They  also  go  far  to 
point  out  the  period  of  his  life,  a  question  regarded  by  great  his 
torians  as  involved  in  doubt,  when  his  mind  opened  to  the  possi 
bility  and  progressed  to  certainty  as  to  the  existence  of  vast 
countries  across  the  Atlantic.  In  a  future  chapter  we  will  give 
an  account  of  the  great  strides  made  by  maritime  nations,  espe 
cially  by  Portugal,  in  exploring  the  western  coast  of  Africa,  dis 
covering  and  settling  islands  in  the  Atlantic,  and  in  expanding 
the  sphere  of  human  knowledge  as  to  the  geography  of  the  earth. 
The  writings  of  the  ancients  and  of  classical  authors,  which  re 
ferred  in  unmistakable  terms  and  with  inspiring  grandeur  of 
thought  to  distant  continents,  were  brought  into  prominent  refer 
ence,  and  were  studied  with  enchanting  delight.  The  Cartha 
ginians  and  their  great  island  of  Antilla  in  the  western  ocean, 
now,  after  the  rest  of  centuries,  came  forth  to  inflame  the  public 
enthusiasm  and  to  fan  the  flame  of  maritime  adventure  and  ex 
ploration.  The  "  Dialogues  of  Plato,"  containing  the  account 
of  the  great  island  or  continent  of  Atlantis,  and  of  its  submersion 
in  the  western  ocean,  were  studied,  and  their  authenticity  found 
then,  as  now,  many  earnest  and  learned  advocates.  Then,  as  in 
our  own  day,  there  were  many  among  advanced  scholars,  who 
adopted  and  advocated  the  theory  that  the  islands  then  known 
to  the  world — the  Canaries  and  the  Azores — were  remnants  of  the 
submerged  Atlantis,  and  that  other  and  vaster  insular  remains  of 


44  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

that  vast  continent  or  island  existed  in  far  distant  regions  of  the 
Atlantic,  all  of  them  being  more  elevated  and  mountainous  limits 
of  the  lost  country.*  While  there  was  much  of  reason  and  fact 
to  rest  such  theories  upon,  the  feverish  state  of  the  public  mind 
gave  rise  to  other  and  imaginary  islands  and  lands  of  vast  extent, 
which  mariners,  driven  westward  from  their  course,  had  seen  or 
dreamed  of  as  lying  clearly  in  sight  on  the  western  horizon  ;  and 
many  a  voyager  related  to  willing  ears  the  exciting  and  fasci 
nating  stories  of  discoveries  of  lands  lying  far  out  in  the  ocean, 
which  subsequent  knowledge  of  the  Atlantic  showed  to  have 
been  mere  clouds  or  clusters  of  clouds,  which  are  commonly  seen 
at  sea,  resting  low  and  flat  on  the  horizon  on  summer  afternoons, 
and  closely  resembling  islands.  The  thirst  for  such  exciting 
accounts  and  wonders  invited  exaggeration  and  even  wilful  in 
vention,  and  many  a  tale  of  western  land  was  fabricated  to  feed 
the  popular  tastes  and  fancies.  We  know  that  a  noted  story  of 
this  kind  was  told  to  Columbus  by  one  Antonio  Leone,  who  re 
sided  at  Madeira,  and  who  assured  our  hero  that  he  had  dis 
tinctly  seen  three  islands  lying  in  the  western  distance  while  he 
was  sailing  westward  from  the  island  of  Madeira.  Such  imagi 
nary  islands  were  not  seen  alone  by  the  inhabitants  of  Madeira, 
for  the  people  of  the  Canaries  labored  under  a  similar  imagina 
tion,  and  optical  delusion  became  a  chronic  disease  with  them. 
When  the  skies  were  clear  and  the  weather  warm,  they  could 
distinctly  see  an  immense  island  lying  to  the  westward,  and 
its  majestic  mountains  broke  forth  high  above  the  horizon  ; 
while  they  admitted  that  the  island  was  seen  only  at  intervals,  it 
was  always  seen  in  the  same  place,  though  frequently  not  visible 
in  the  clearest  weather.  Anxious  to  nurse  their  belief,  the  credu 
lous  islanders  thought  that  the  fact  of  the  distant  island  always 
presenting  the  same  shape  and  same  outline  of  mountains  was 
sufficient  to  prove  it  a  reality.  Authorities  from  the  literature 
of  the  past  were  not  wanting  to  show  the  existence  of  islands  or 
lands  lying  westward,  with  which  this  new  discovery  might  be 
identified.  There  were  also  advocates  for  the  claim  that  this 
was  the  famous  Antilla  which  Aristotle  mentioned.  This  island 
apparition  also  gave  revival  to  the  old  Spanish  legend  of  the 
island  of  the  Seven  Cities,  which  were  founded  by  the  seven 


*  Donnelly's  "  Atlantis," passim. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  45 

bishops  who  are  said  to  have  abandoned  their  country  at  the 
time  of  its  conquest  by  the  Moors,  and  who,  under  the  special 
protection  and  pilotage  of  Heaven,  sailed  to  this  beautiful  island 
with  their  flocks,  and  there  built  the  seven  famous  cities.  Other 
zealous  believers  in  the  newly  discovered  island  believed  it  to  be 
the  far-famed  island  of  St.  Brandon,  which,  according  to  ancient 
tradition,  was  discovered  by  this  celebrated  priest  of  Scotland 
in  the  sixth  century.  So  universal  was  the  belief  in  St.  Bran 
don's  Island,  that  it  passed  into  the  domain  of  history,  is 
alluded  to  in  the  current  literature  and  histories  of  our  day,  and 
it  was  actually  located  on  the  maps  of  the  fifteenth  century  as 
lying  in  the  very  direction  in  which  the  people  of  the  Canaries 
now  saw  it.  The  new  island  was  also  identified  by  others  with 
the  Antilla  of  the  Carthaginians.  Such  was  the  faith  of  the 
people  in  this  wonderful  island,  that  they  actually  petitioned  the 
King  of  Portugal  to  grant  them  permission  to  fit  out  expeditions 
for  its  exploration  and  conquest,  and  expeditions  actually  went 
in  search  of  it  ;  but  it  ever  eluded  their  grasp.  Such  was  the 
atmosphere  in  which  Columbus,  in  the  prime  of  his  life,  ardent 
and  ambitious,  lived  for  years,  and  as  he  carefully  recorded 
accounts  of  all  these  things  among  his  notes  and  memoranda,  it 
is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  they  exerted  some  influence  in 
'generating  his  earliest  thoughts  of  discovery,  and  led  him  through 
and  from  the  field  of  the  imagination  to  those  severer  and  deeper 
studies,  which  subsequently  enabled  him  to  expound  his  theories 
before  the  most  learned  bodies  of  Europe,  and  to  refute  all  their 
misconceived  objections. 

It  was  also  during  this  period  of  his  life,  as  supposed  by  his 
torians,  though  probably  erroneously,  in  the  light  of  recently 
discovered  facts,  that  Columbus  may  have  taken  part  in  other 
expeditions  which  extended  through  the  Mediterranean  and  to 
the  Levant,  some  of  which  were  in  the  prosecution  of  commer 
cial  enterprises  for  Venetian  merchants,  others  in  taking  a  gallant 
part  in  naval  wars  and  engagements,  in  which  the  rival  States  of 
Italy  then  unfortunately  engaged  against  each  other,  and  others 
still  were  undertaken  with  religious  zeal  against  the  Mohammedan 
rovers  and  pirates,  enemies  of  his  faith  and  his  Church.  In  sev 
eral  of  these  adventures  Columbus  commanded  a  ship  either 
under  his  uncle,  Admiral  Colombo,  or  under  Colombo  the 
Younger.  In  one  of  these  singular  and  characteristic  adven- 


46  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

tures,  under  the  latter,  Columbus,  as  usual,  commanded  a  vessel, 
and  took  a  conspicuous  part  in  so  eventful  and  perilous  an  en 
counter  that  it  was  only  his  own  presence  of  mind,  endurance, 
and  good  swimming  that  warded  off  the  catastrophe  that,  by  his 
death,  would  have  left  America  undiscovered  perhaps  for  cen 
turies.  It  is  related  by  his  son  and  historian,  Fernando,  that  the 
commander  of  the  expedition,  Colombo  the  Younger,  went  with 
all  his  ships  to  the  coast  of  Portugal  and  lay  in  wait  for  four 
Venetian  galleys  returning  from  Flanders  and  laden  with  rich 
cargoes.  The  engagement  which  ensued  at  the  meeting  of  the 
two  fleets  was  desperate  and  frantic.  The  attacking  ships  and  the 
merchantmen,  which  were  no  less  well  armed  and  prepared  for 
war,  grappled  each  other  in  deadly  contest,  and  the  officers  and 
crews,  as  was  the  custom  of  the  age,  fought  their  antagonists 
hand-to-hand  from  their  respective  ships,  each  endeavoring  always 
to  board  the  enemy.  The  struggle,  which  was  marked  with 
extraordinary  carnage  on  both  sides,  lasted  all  day,  and  fierce 
was  the  encounter.  Columbus  with  his  ship  engaged  a  powerful 
Venetian  galley  ;  the  vessels  were  fastened  to  each  other  by 
chains  and  grappling-irons,  for  they  fought  in  those  days  after 
the  manner  of  pirates,  and  one  or  other  of  the  vessels  and  its 
crew,  if  not  both,  was  sure  to  be  destroyed.  Both  vessels  were 
toward  evening  enveloped  in  flames  from  the  hand-grenades  and 
other  burning  projectiles,  and  were  involved  together  in  certain 
destruction  from  fire.  The  officers  and  crews  of  each  vessel  had 
to  take  refuge  from  the  fire  by  throwing  themselves  into  the 
water.  While  many  perished,  if  not  most  of  them,  Columbus 
calmly  seized  an  oar  and  swam  the  distance  of  six  miles  to  the 
shore.  Fernando  Columbus  states  that,  after  recovering  from 
his  exhaustion,  his  father  proceeded  to  Lisbon,  and  finding  many 
of  his  countrymen,  Genoese,  there,  he  readily  consented  to  make 
it  his  place  of  residence.  But  as  this  engagement  took  place 
several  years  later  than  1470,  and  it  seems  well  established  that 
it  was  in  that  year  that  he  went  to  Lisbon  first,  it  is  more  prob 
able,  as  Mr.  Irving  concludes,  that  this  disaster  merely  led  to 
his  return  then  to  his  former  residence  at  the  capital  of  Portugal. 
Tarducci  discredits  almost  entirely  the  accuracy  and  truthfulness 
of  Fernando's  account.* 

As  it  seems  clear  that  Columbus  went  to  Madeira  in  1474,  and 

*  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's   "  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  20,  21. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  47 

after  his  marriage  there  in  1475  went  to  Funchal  to  reside  with 
his  wife  in  1476,  and  thence  on  his  voyage  to  Iceland  in  the  latter 
part  of  1476  or  early  in  1477,  there  is  but  little  probability  of  his 
having  been  in  any  such  engagements  during  this  period.  His 
correspondence  with  Dr.  Toscanelli  took  place  about  the  year 
1474,  and  then  and  ever  afterward  his  mind  was  absorbed  in  the 
grander  field  of  oceanic  and  western  voyages  and  discoveries. 
In  1477,  while  residing  at  Funchal,  and  after  the  death  of  his 
wife,  and  after  leaving  his  son  Diego  with  his  grandmother  at 
Machico,  Columbus  made  that  voyage,  to  which  allusion 
has  already  been  made,  not  the  least  remarkable  of  his  many 
adventures  on  the  sea  ;  this  was  his  visit  to  Iceland,  then  re 
garded  as  the  ultima  Tkule,  the  utmost  boundary  of  the  earth. 
Subsequent  historical  discussions  in  relation  to  the  voyages  of 
the  Northmen  to  Greenland  and  our  own  northern  coasts  have 
developed  the  conjecture  that  Columbus  might  have  learned  of 
the  voyages  and  discoveries  of  lands  west  of  Iceland,  of  Green 
land,  and  even  of  our  own  country,  from  Icelanders,  in  1477,  dur 
ing  his  visit  to  their  country.  But  Columbus  kept  such  ample 
notes  and  memoranda  of  all  he  saw  and  heard  bearing  upon  the 
geography  of  the  earth,  that,  had  he  heard  of  the  western  dis 
coveries  of  the  Northmen  at  Iceland,  he  would  have  assuredly 
mentioned  it  in  his  writings,  and  in  the  letter  he  wrote  to  his 
son,  Fernando,  on  his  voyage  to  Iceland.  The  following  extract 
from  that  letter  tends  to  exclude,  upon  the  laws  of  evidence,  the 
presumption  that  he  had  heard  of  the  Norse  voyages  and  colonies 
in  the  Western  Hemisphere,  which  had  then  ceased.  "  In  the 
year  1477,  in  February,  I  navigated  one  hundred  leagues  beyond 
Thule  (Iceland),  the  southern  part  of  which  is  seventy-three 
degrees  distant  from  the  equator,  and  not  sixty-three,  as  some 
pretend  ;  neither  is  it  situated  within  the  line  which  includes  the 
west  of  Ptolemy,  but  is  much  more  westerly.  The  English, 
principally  those  of  Bristol,  go  with  their  merchandise  to  this 
island,  which  is  as  large  as  England.  When  I  was  there  the  sea 
was  not  frozen,  and  the  tides  were  so  great  as  to  rise  and  fall 
twenty-six  fathoms."*  But  doubtless  his  observations  of  the 
earth  and  sea  at  that  point  strengthened  the  grounds,  upon  which 
Columbus  founded  his  firm  conviction  and  confident  assurance, 
that  extensive  lands  and  countries  would  be  found  by  sailing  due 

*  Fernando  Columbus,  "  Historia  del  Almirante,"  cap.  4. 


48  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

west  across  the  Atlantic.  After  his  Icelandic  voyage  Columbus 
is  reported  to  have  visited  the  Portuguese  settlement  of  San 
Jorge  de  Mina,  on  the  coast  of  Guinea.  During  this  period  of 
his  life  which  we  are  now  considering,  he  acquired  great  stores 
of  knowledge  in  relation  to  the  progress  and  results  of  modern 
discoveries,  the  location  of  regions  and  islands  discovered  and 
explored  on  or  along  the  western  coasts  of  Europe,  and  espe 
cially  of  Africa,  and  in  the  practical  sciences  of  cosmography, 
geography,  astronomy,  and  navigation.  His  good  judgment, 
clear  perception,  and  varied  experience  enabled  him  to  distin 
guish  between  the  real  and  genuine  information  and  knowledge 
then  accessible,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  visionary  reports  and 
conjectures  of  the  heated  and  ardent  imaginations  of  ignorant 
navigators  on  the  other  ;  but  he  kept  a  record  of  all  he  saw  and 
heard,  and  stored  up,  in  his  ripened  and  cultured  mind  and 
memory,  all  the  learning  and  facts  developed  in  the  past  and  in 
his  own  times.  Yet  there  was  nothing  that  his  vigorous  mind 
and  enterprising  spirit  did  not  utilize  in  evolving  his  grand  con 
ceptions  of  the  earth  and  ocean.  Believing  that  it  was  this 
period  of  his  life  that  gave  birth  to  his  admirable  and  practical 
views  and  plans,  we  have  thought  it  important  to  give  at  some 
length  the  history  of  his  voyages  and  expeditions,  of  the  means 
and  opportunities  he  possessed,  and  of  which  he  availed  himself 
from  the  time  of  his  first  arrival  in  Portugal,  soon  after  which  he 
must  have  presented  his  claims  and  propositions  to  the  king  of 
that  country.  The  following  passage,  from  Mr.  Irving's  life 
of  the  admiral,  will  fitly  conclude  the  review  of  this  interesting 
part  of  his  career,  and  of  his  progress  from  poverty  and  obscurity 
to  fame  and  glory  :  "  His  genius  having  thus  taken  its  decided 
bent,  it  is  interesting  to  notice  from  what  a  mass  of  acknowledged 
facts,  rational  hypotheses,  fanciful  narrations,  and  popular  rumors 
his  grand  project  of  discovery  was  wrought  out  by  the  strong 
workings  of  his  vigorous  mind."  We  should  add  that  the  mem 
oranda  and  writings  of  Columbus,  covering  this  extensive  field 
of  inquiry  and  study,  were  carefully  preserved  by  him  and  trans 
mitted  to  his  son  Fernando,  who  has  given  their  contents  to  the 
world  in  his  "  History  of  the  Admiral  ;"  and  though  impaired  by 
the  enthusiastic  and  indiscreet  exaggerations  of  the  compiler  and 
editor,  the  work  forms  a  noble  monument  raised  by  a  loyal  son 
to  an  illustrious  parent  ! 


CHAPTER  III. 

"  Theirs  was  the  tread  of  pioneers, 

Of  nations  yet  to  be  ; 
The  first  low  wash  of  waves  where  soon 
Shall  roll  a  human  sea." 

— ANONYMOUS. 

CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS  lived  in  an  age  of  discovery.  Spain 
and  Portugal  were  the  leading  and  pioneer  nations  that  awakened 
among  modern  peoples  the  study  of  navigation  and  its  kindred 
sciences,  the  spirit  of  discovery  and  the  thirst  for  maritime 
adventure  and  conquests.  The  Canary  Islands,  now  generally 
believed  by  historians  and  cosmographers  to  be  the  Fortunate 
Islands  of  the  ancients  mentioned  by  Pliny  the  Elder,  by  Plutarch, 
and  by  Ptolemy,  visited  by  the  Moors  in  the  twelfth  century 
and  by  Italian  navigators  in  the  thirteenth,  were  rediscovered 
by  a  Spanish  vessel  driven  by  a  storm  to  that  quarter  in  1334. 
In  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century  many  abortive  attempts 
were  made  to  bring  them  within  the  Spanish  dominion,  and 
though  Spanish  naval  commanders  landing  there  saw  nothing  of 
the  fabled  gardens  of  the  fair  daughters  of  Atlas  and  Erebus,  nor 
of  the  golden  apples  which  Terra  gave  to  Juno  as  a  wedding  gift 
in  the  times  when  deities  mingled  in  the  convivialities  of  earth, 
such  were  the  beauty  and  attractions  of  these  noted  islands  that 
continued  expeditions  were  renewed,  until  they  were  finally  and 
effectually  conquered  by  a  joint  Spanish  and  Norman  expedition 
under  a  Norman  commander,  the  gallant  Jean  de  Bethencourt  ; 
and  though  claimed  subsequently  by  both  Spain  and  Portugal, 
they  were  eventually  adjudged  to  and  became  a  permanent  pos 
session  of  the  former.  Great  interest  attached  to  the  Canary 
Islands  on  account  of  the  ancient  and  mythical  traditions  con 
nected  with  them,  for  not  only  did  the  poets  of  Greece  and  Rome 
locate  here  the  enchanted  gardens  of  the  Hesperides — a  trans 
formed  tradition  of  the  Mosaic  Garden  of  Eden — but  it  was  these 
gardens  that  Ptolemy,  the  great  Hellene-Egyptian  mathemati 
cian,  astronomer,  and  geographer,  who  flourished  in  the  second 


5O  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

century  of  the  Christian  era,  the  first  to  prove  the  earth  to  be  a 
globe,  a  favorite  author  of  Columbus,  established  as  the  point 
from  which  to  compute  the  longitude  of  the  earth.  But  they 
had  long  been  lost  to  the  world,  except  in  dim  traditions  and 
mythical  legends,  until  the  advancing  spirit  of  discovery  in  the 
fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  added  them,  in  fact,  to  the 
realms  of  the  civilized  world.  Even  in  that  more  practical  era, 
which  still  retained  the  traditional  chivalry  and  romance  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  the  most  real  events  bore  a  tinge  of  sentiment,  and 
some  have  supposed  that  the  excitement  and  stimulus  to  adven 
turous  discovery  which  this  age  manifested  was  not  wholly 
attributable  to  their  practical  importance,  but  rather  to  a  roman 
tic  story  of  love  adventure.  Sentiment  was  then  a  potent  ele 
ment  in  all  public  events.  The  discovery  of  Madeira  was  traced 
by  some  to  the  accounts  given  in  the  fourteenth  century  of  the 
flight  of  two  lovers,  an  Englishman  named  Macham  and  a  beauti 
ful  lady  of  France,  enamored  with  each  other,  who  fled  from  the 
lady's  home  in  a  vessel,  went  to  sea,  were  driven  by  storms  far 
beyond  the  sight  of  land,  and  were  tossed  and  carried  long  and 
far  over  dangerous  waters,  until  they  finally  saw  and  landed  on 
a  fair  and  wooded  island  unknown  and  without  human  presence 
save  their  own,  then,  for  the  first  time.  This  lover's  retreat  was 
afterward  identified  as  the  island  of  Madeira. 

The  Cape  Verde  Islands  and  the  Azores,  though  dimly 
known,  and  even  in  the  fourteenth  century  laid  down  on  the 
maps,  were  only  explored  and  taken  possession  of  in  the  fifteenth 
by  the  Portuguese.  These  events,  together  with  a  greater 
familiarity  with  the  Atlantic  coasts  of  Africa,  prepared  the  way 
for  one  who,  like  Columbus,  was  in  advance  of  his  time  in  all  the 
studies,  sciences,  enterprises,  and  discoveries  of  an  age  eventful 
beyond  precedent  in  advancing  the  progress  of  the  human  race 
over  the  earth.  This  remarkable  person  was  Prince  Henry  the 
Navigator,  of  Portugal  ;  a  prince  whose  career  of  energy,  enter 
prise,  and  progress — adorned,  too,  as  he  was  with  scientific 
studies,  profound  and  learned  research,  and  princely  liberality- 
have  handed  his  name  down  to  succeeding  ages  an  ornament  to 
his  rank  and  his  race.  He  did  not  leave  events  to  drift  slowly 
and  fortuitously  to  their  results  ;  he  advanced  at  once  to  be  a 
leader  of  his  age  ;  he  was  a  worthy  and  brilliant  precursor  of 
Columbus,  who  carried  the  work  commenced  by  Prince  Henry 


ON  COLUMBUS.  51 

the    Navigator  to   its  culmination  in    the    discovery    of   Amer 
ica. 

Prince  Henry  was  the  fourth  son  of  King  John  I.  of  Portugal, 
and  on  his  mother's  side  he  was  descended  from  John  of  Gaunt, 
Duke  of  Lancaster.  He  was  born  on  March  4th,  1394,  and  was 
distinguished  while  a  youth  for  his  courage  and  brilliant  achieve 
ments  in  the  wars  against  the  Moors  of  Barbary.  Returning 
from  the  conquest  of  Ceuta,  in  1415,  he  received  the  order  of 
knighthood  for  his  chivalrous  deeds,  and  then,  going  to  reside 
at  an  Atlantic  retreat  near  Cape  St.  Vincent,  he  fitted  out  naval 
expeditions  against  the  Moors  on  the  coast  of  Africa.  Having 
served  through  three  campaigns  of  naval  warfare,  besides  the 
military  expeditions  under  his  father  in  Barbary,  he  acquired  a 
vast  amount  of  information  in  relation  to  Africa,  both  in  the  in 
terior,  south  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  along  the  coast  of  Guinea. 
Instead  of  spending  his  life  amid  the  allurements  of  the  court  of 
Portugal,  he  devoted  himself  to  study  and  to  works  of  utility 
and  glory  to  his  country.  He  was  distinguished  for  his  learn 
ing,  especially  in  the  sciences  of  mathematics,  geography,  and 
navigation.  In  his  retreat  in  the  Algarve,  near  Sagres  and  Cape 
St.  Vincent,  he  attracted  by  his  enterprise,  learning,  and  munifi 
cence  men  of  science  and  study  around  him.  He  became  also 
an  accomplished  astronomer.  He  erected  at  Sagres  a  naval  and 
astronomical  observatory  and  nautical  school,  at  which  young 
noblemen  and  other  earnest  students  might  study  all  the  sciences 
connected  with  navigation,  and  he  appointed  as  its  president  the 
learned  cosmographer  and  scientific  navigator,  James  Mallorca. 
Prince  Henry,  after  studying  ancient  and  modern  scholars  and 
authors,  boldly  adopted  the  opinion  that  the  prevailing  belief 
that  the  coast  of  Africa  ended  at  Cape  Nun  was  false  ;  that,  on 
the  contrary,  the  torrid  zone  at  the  equator  was  not- impassable 
and  unnavigable,  on  account  of  the  stifling  and  destroying  heats 
of  the  sun  ;  that  Cape  Bojador  was  not  the  last  and  only  secure 
point  of  navigation  ;  that  beyond  this  cape  the  Atlantic  was 
navigable  ;  that  great  and  valuable  discoveries  could  be  made 
by  tracing  its  line  to  the  southward  ;  and,  finally,  he  adopted  the 
view  that  Africa  was  circumnavigable,  and  that  India,  with  its 
vast  and  wealthy  empires  and  lucrative  commerce,  could  be 
reached  by  sailing  around  the  southern  end  of  Africa.  Prince 
,Henry  commenced  sending  out  expeditions  to  solve  this  dreaded 


52  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

yet  fascinating  problem.  The  first  of  these,  in  1418,  consisting 
of  t\vo  vessels  under  the  command  of  Joao  Gongalves  Zarco  and 
Tristan  Vaz,  intended  to  pass  Cape  Nun,  was  driven  off  the 
coast  by  storms,  and  resulted  in  the  accidental  discovery  of  Porto 
Santo.  The  next  year  the  same  captains  discovered  and  colo 
nized  the  island  of  Madeira,  under  the  patronage  of  Prince  Henry 
and  the  court  of  Lisbon.  During  twelve  succeeding  years  he 
continued  to  send  expedition  after  expedition.  Cape  Nun  was 
passed,  and  Cape  Bojador  was  reached,  but  beyond  this  nothing 
was  accomplished,  except  to  seem,  alas  !  to  confirm  the  popular 
belief  that  this  was  the  limit  of  the  habitable  world,  and  that 
whoever  doubled  Cape  Bojador  would  never  return.  The  un 
daunted  prince  persevered  against  these  prejudices  and  the  home 
clamors  at  the  expense  of  these  fruitless  expeditions,  until,  in 
1433,  one  of  his  expeditions  doubled  this  dreaded  cape — an  era 
in  the  history  of  navigation  which,  together  with  the  recent  dis 
covery  of  the  Azores,  produced  a  great  sensation  in  Portugal  and 
throughout  maritime  Europe.  These  expeditions  were  regarded 
now  with  universal  favor,  as  tending  to  enlarge  the  domain  of 
Christendom.  In  1441,  at  the  solicitation  of  Prince  Henry,  the 
Pope  granted  to  Portugal  all  the  countries  it  could  conquer  from 
Cape  Bojador  to  India.  Indeed,  these  expeditions  were  regarded 
as  holy  or  as  naval  crusades,  and  the  Holy  See  conferred  upon 
them  extraordinary  spiritual  favors.  Having  extended  their  dis 
coveries  to  the  mouth  of  a  river  nearly  two  hundred  miles  south 
of  Cape  Bojador,  in  1445,  the  Portuguese  sailed  down  the  coast 
of  Africa  as  far  as  Cape  Verde  ;  and  now  these  expeditions 
became  profitable  on  account  of  the  rich  returns  in  gold  and 
slaves,  and  the  glory  of  Portugal's  having  advanced  in  that  direc 
tion  farther  than  any  other  European  nation.  In  1447  the  limit 
of  discovery  was  advanced  to  the  river  Gambia,  and  just  before 
the  death  of  Prince  Henry,  which  occurred  on  November  I3th, 
1460,  one  of  his  expeditions  had  reached  Sierra  Leone.  This 
noble  prince  did  not  live  long  enough  to  realize  his  fond  hope  of 
reaching  India  by  sailing  southward  and  eastward  around  Africa  ; 
but  he  had  seen  the  Portuguese  flag  carried  beyond  the  limits  of 
all  other  European  discovery  and  conquest  in  that  direction. 
He  bequeathed  his  spirit  and  his  ambition  to  his  country.  Por 
tugal,  persevering  in  his  grand  purposes,  which  had  now  become 
national,  in  1524,  under  Vasco  de  Gama,  succeeded,  but  after 


ON    COLUMBUS.  53 

Columbus  had  discovered  the  new  world,  in  doubling  the  Cape 
of  Storms,  whose  name  was  then  changed  to  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  in  reaching  and  sailing  along  the  southern  coast  of  India, 
and  in  thus  opening  to  Europe  the  rich  Oriental  markets  of  Asia. 
So  noble  and  brilliant  a  man  was  Prince  Henry,  and  his  work 
was  so  conducive  to  that  of  Columbus,  that  we  will  give  here  a 
personal  account  of  him  by  one  of  Portugal's  oldest  and  most 
distinguished  historians  :  "  He  was  bulky  and  strong  ;  his  com 
plexion  red  and  white  ;  his  hair  coarse  and  shaggy.  His  aspect 
produced  fear  in  those  not  accustomed  to  him,  not  in  those  who 
were  ;  for  even  in  the  strongest  current  of  his  vexation  at  any 
thing  his  courtesy  always  prevailed  over  his  anger.  He  was 
patient  in  labor,  bold  and  valorous  in  war,  versed  in  arts  and 
letters  ;  a  skilful  fencer  ;  in  the  mathematics  superior  to  all  men 
of  his  time  ;  generous  in  the  extreme,  and  zealous  in  the  extreme 
for  the  increase  of  the  faith.  No  bad  habits  were  known  in  him. 
He  did  not  marry,  nor  was  it  known  that  he  ever  violated  the 
purity  of  continence."  * 

Had  not  Columbus  been  a  man  of  original  thought  and  inde 
pendent  character,  he  would  have  assuredly  followed  up  the  un 
accomplished  plans  of  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator,  for  sailing 
and  exploring  around  Southern  Africa,  and  reaching  Asia  by  a 
southeastern  passage  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Like  all 
the  leading  men  of  his  times,  he  was  deeply  interested  in  and 
thoroughly  aroused  by  the  achievements  of  the  Prince  and  the 
great  discoveries  of  the  Portuguese.  Columbus,  like  Prince 
Henry,  was  "  full  of  thoughts  of  lofty  enterprise  and  acts  of  gen 
erous  spirit,"  and,  led  by  these  noble  sentiments,  we  now  find 
him,  in  1470,  at  Lisbon,  among  the  throng  of  enterprising  men, 
navigators,  mathematicians,  astronomers,  and  cosmographers, 
who  had  been  attracted  thither  by  the  excitement  of  discovery, 
of  which  that  capital  was  the  focus,  and  by  the  pre-eminent 
energy  and  activity  in  maritime  undertakings  and  conquests, 
which  had  raised  Portugal  from  the  smallest  in  size  to  be  the 
foremost  of  European  nations  in  glory  and  conquest. 

Columbus  was  the  most  earnest  and  studious  man  in  that  active 
and  restless  throng  of  progressive  men,  and  in  his  deep  thoughts 
was  generated  a  new  departure  from  the  accustomed  course  of 


*  Favia  y  Sousa,  "  Asia  Portuguesa." 


54  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

navigation  and  discovery.  From  the  accounts  given  by  Fer 
nando  Columbus  and  Las  Casas,  Mr.  Irving  summarizes  the  fol 
lowing  personal  description  of  the  man,  who  was  then  coming 
forward  to  the  accomplishment  of  results  far  grander  and  more 
useful  to  mankind  than  the  great  achievements  of  Prince  Henry, 
for  these  two  men  stand  forth  as  the  paragons  of  that  remarkable 
age.  "  According  to  these  accounts,"  Mr.  Irving  writes  of  the 
coming  man,  "  he  was  tall,  well-formed,  muscular,  and  of  an  ele 
vated  and  dignified  demeanor.  His  visage  was  long,  and  neither 
full  nor  meagre  ;  his  complexion  fair  and  freckled  and  inclined 
to  ruddy  ;  his  nose  aquiline  ;  his  cheek-bones  were  rather  high, 
his  eyes  light  gray,  and  apt  to  enkindle  ;  his  whole  countenance 
had  an  air  of  authority.  His  hair  in  his  youthful  days  was  of  a 
light  color,  but  care  and  trouble,  according  to  Las  Casas,  soon 
turned  it  gray,  and  at  thirty  years  of  age  it  was  quite  white.  He 
was  moderate  and  simple  in  diet  and  apparel,  eloquent  in  dis 
course,  engaging  and  affable  with  strangers,  and  his  amiableness 
and  suavity  in  domestic  life  strongly  attached  his  household  to 
his  person.  His  temper  was  naturally  irritable,  but  he  subdued 
it  by  the  magnanimity  of  his  spirit,  comporting  himself  with  a 
courteous  and  gentle  gravity,  and  never  indulging  in  any  intem 
perance  of  language.  Throughout  his  life  he  was  noted  for 
strict  attention  to  the  offices  of  religion,  observing  rigorously  the 
fasts  and  ceremonies  of  the  Church  ;  nor  did  his  piety  consist  in 
mere  forms,  but  partook  of  that  lofty  and  solemn  enthusiasm 
with  which  his  whole  character  was  strongly  tinctured."  This 
account  by  Mr.  Irving  has  prepared  us  for  another  description 
by  the  manly  and  even  more  admiring  pen  of  the  Count  de 
Lorgues,  which  is  substantially  given  in  the  next  paragraph. 

The  personal  appearance  of  Columbus,  prepossessing  and  im 
posing  as  it  was,  gave  but  a  faint  insight  into  the  higher  qualities 
of  his  mind  and  soul,  as  reverently  represented  to  us  by  the 
venerable  Count  de  Lorgues.  His  character  was  embellished 
with  rich  gifts  of  nature  and  of  grace,  of  education  and  study,  of 
magnanimity  and  virtue.  The  simplicity  of  his  attire,  so  far 
from  lessening  the  appreciation  and  respect  of  men,  seemed  to 
accord  with  the  grandeur  of  his  nature  and  the  loftiness  of  his 
mind.  His  modesty  only  gave  distinction  to  his  presence.  The 
grace  and  ease  of  his  manners  and  "the  dignity  and  self-conscious 
ness  of  his  purposes  enabled  him  to  appear  to  advantage  before 


ON   COLUMBUS.  55 

the  proudest  noblemen  and  grandees,  as  well  as  before  the  most 
powerful  and  ceremonious  sovereigns.  His  garments  were  long 
worn  but  well  preserved,  spotless  and  unrent,  and  his  linen  was 
always  of  the  finest  texture  and  purest  white.  He  had  a  refined 
and  delicate  taste,  loved  nature  and  the  beauties  of  nature,  and 
while  he  admired  the  productions  of  the  sea,  he  eagerly  enjoyed 
and  admired  flowers,  birds,  and  other  productions  of  the  land. 
His  long  and  frequent  following  of  the  sea  never  tainted  his  mind 
or  manners  with  the  coarseness  or  vices  of  seamen  ;  his  language 
was  refined* and  chaste,  he  never  indulged  in  games  of  chance, 
avoided  all  effeminate  pleasures,  used  but  little  wine,  preferred 
vegetable  food,  was  frugal  on  land  as  he  was  at  sea,  and  his 
favorite  beverage  was  orange  water  flavored  with  sugar  or  candy. 
His  religious  inclinations  were  as  fresh  and  constant  at  sea  and 
among  distant  and  barbarous  peoples  as  they  were  in  his  own 
family.  He  sought  the  guidance  of  Heaven,  and  whenever  he 
succeeded  in  any  of  his  undertakings,  his  first  impulse  was  to 
render  thanks  to  God. 

In  his  temperament,  I  must  say,  he  was  irascible,  but  this 
failing  he  is  known  to  have  controlled  and  subdued  by  the 
strength  of  his  mind  and  the  scrupulous  and  religious  training  of 
his  conscience.  I  will  have  but  one  occasion  to  relate  his 
yielding  wholly  to  the  anger  and  violence  which  injustice  and 
petty  persecutions  so  naturally  aroused  in  men  of  his  nature  ;  but 
the  wrong  had  been  long  endured,  and  the  yielding  was  of  short 
duration.  He  was  generous  almost  beyond  question,  and  gave 
away  the  scanty  means  he  needed  even  for  purchasing  the  neces 
saries  of  life,  in  order  to  succor  and  relieve  the  poor  or  ship 
wrecked  seamen  who  had  followed  him  over  the  seas,  and  to 
those  even  who  had  requited  his  generosity  with  the  basest  in 
gratitude.  In  his  intercourse  with  men  he  was  patient,  conde 
scending,  and  affable.  To  the  rough  and  profligate,  the  treacher 
ous  and  violent,  with  whom  he  was  so  constantly  thrown  in  con 
tact,  and  over  whom  he  held  almost  at  times  unlimited  power, 
he  was  mild,  just,  and  forbearing,  and  his  conduct,  in  many  of 
the  most  trying  and  embarrassing  positions  in  which  it  were 
possible  for  a  man  to  be  thrown,  was  marked  by  wisdom,  tact, 
and  good  sense.  With  all  this,  his  nature  overflowed  with  senti 
ment,  and  his  fancy  revelled  in  the  most  portentous  anticipations 
and  achievements.  In  the  midst  of  his  struggles  and  successes 


56  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

he  took  an  exquisite  pleasure  in  the  beauties  of  nature,  and  failed 
not  to  notice  and  admire  the  smallest  as  well  as  the  grandest 
things  of  creation.  His  enthusiasm  was  unbounded,  his  faith 
jubilant,  his  hopes  inexhaustible.  In  the  home  circle  he  was 
amiable  and  gentle,  and  won  the  hearts  of  those  around  him  ; 
yet  he  was  capable  of  the  most  uncompromising  severity  when 
needed,  and  of  the  most  just  indignation.  Even  royalty  itself 
was  made  to  feel  his  just  abhorrence  of  wrong.  Such  is  a  faint 
outline  of  the  character  of  the  man  to  whom  the  world  owes  and 
now  acknowledges  so  much. 

At  Lisbon,  on  the  arrival  and  during  the  residence  of  Colum 
bus  in  that  capital,  all  was  activity,  energy,  bustle,  and  excite 
ment  ;  and  every  pulsation  of  the  public  heart  and  aspiration  of 
the  popular  ambition  were  directed  toward  prosecuting  the  great 
works  commenced  by  Prince  Henry  in  the  discovery,  explora 
tion,  and  conquest  of  distant  countries.  The  king,  the  court,  the 
high  dignitaries  of  the  Church — who  then  usually  discharged  the 
highest  and  most  important  functions  of  the  government — the 
nobility,  the  gentry,  the  middle  and  lower  classes  of  the  people, 
were  all  swayed  by  the  prevailing  sentiment,  dominated  by  the 
popular  enthusiasm,  and  carried  along  by  the  ambition  of  the 
day.  Portugal  was  still  prosecuting  the  patriotic  enterprises  of 
Prince  Henry,  and  to  reach  Asia,  with  its  vast  and  populous 
empires;  to  make  the  wealth  and  markets  of  the  East  tributary 
to  European  predominance,  interest,  and  luxury  ;  to  plant  the 
national  flag  on  distant  conquests  ;  to  find  the  brilliant  and  im 
perial  court  of  the  Grand  Khan  and  the  long  sought  Christian 
empire  of  Prester  John,  and  to  unite  vast  Oriental  countries,  with 
their  teeming  populations,  to  the  Latin  Church  and  to  the  spirit 
ual  sway  of  the  successors  of  St.  Peter,  were  the  aspirations  of 
the  maritime  European  nations,  and  especially  of  little  Portugal, 
in  the  fifteenth  century.  From  time  to  time  Lisbon  was  agitated 
over  the  successes  of  the  national  expeditions  sent  to  explore  the 
coast  of  Africa  and  to  open  the  passage  to  Asia  ;  by  the  return  of 
fleets  that  had  extended  the  field  of  discovery  and  enterprise, 
and  by  the  departure  of  new  expeditions — all  which  gave  con 
stant  food  to  the  excitement  of  the  public  mind. 

The  public  events  of  the  day,  the  new  discoveries  of  the  Por 
tuguese,  and  the  expansion  of  the  boundaries  of  human  knowl 
edge  and  of  human  civilization,  went  far  to  educate  the  mind  of 


ON   COLUMBUS.  57 

Columbus  up  to  the  great  work  for  which  he  seemed  destined  ; 
but  his  intelligent,  active,  and  enterprising  intellect  did  not  stop 
at  this  point  of  educational  and  mental  development,  which  was 
attained  by  others,  his  contemporaries.  He  studiously  delved 
into  the  writings  of  ancient  and  modern  authors  on  cosmography, 
and  studied  all  the  existing  maps  of  the  earth.  Though  com 
paratively  an  obscure  man,  he  became,  in  actual  merit  though 
not  in  reputation,  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  his  age  in  such 
learning  ;  and,  though  destitute  of  prestige,  he  became  a  man 
far  in  advance  of  his  age  and  times;  and  prepared  to  meet  and 
refute  the  opposition  of  most  learned  bodies  that  could  then  be 
assembled  in  any  country.  He  evidently  became  self-conscious 
of  a  high  and  irrepressible  destiny. 

It  is  believed  that  Columbus,  after  studying  the  subject  for 
years,  had  about  the  year  1474  arrived  at  a  definite  and  positive 
belief  that,  by  sailing  westward  across  the  Atlantic,  the  unknown 
lands,  islands,  and  continents  of  the  western  ocean  would  be  dis 
covered.  He  did  not  follow  the  theory  of  Prince  Henry  of  Por 
tugal,  that  the  only  route  to  Asia  by  sea  was  that  which  led 
around  the  continent  of  Africa  and  by  doubling  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope.  He  believed  that  the  most  direct  route  to  Asia 
was  a  western  passage  across  the  Atlantic  ;  and  while  this  latter 
part  of  the  theory  of  Columbus  was  an  error  of  detail,  the  theory 
upon  which  he  based  it  was  correct,  for  the  lands  were  there  ; 
they  lay  in  the  very  direction  in  which  he  sailed  ;  and  by  sailing 
westward  he  found  them  !  It  is  singular  that  neither  Prince 
Henry  the  Navigator  nor  Christopher  Columbus  lived  to  realize 
the  real  value  of  the  services  which  they  had  rendered  to  man 
kind.  It  was  in  the  last  year  we  have  named  above  that 
Columbus  is  known  to  have  mentioned  for  the  first  time  his  great 
theory  to  others.  Heretofore  his  thoughts  lay  buried  in  his 
mind,  but  in  his  mind  they  constituted  a  real  discovery. 

Early  in  1474  Columbus  opened  a  correspondence  with  Dr. 
Paul  Toscanelli,  the  learned  physician,  cosmographer,  and  geog 
rapher,  of  Florence,  one  of  the  most  advanced  scientists  of  the 
age,  and  one  not  only  known  and  honored  at  Rome,  but  appealed 
to  and  consulted  by  the  explorers  and  cosmographers  of  the 
time,  who  had  already  been  in  correspondence  with  King 
Affonso  V.,  through  the  Canon  Fernando  Martinez,  on  the  sub 
ject  of  the  Portuguese  voyages  to  Guinea.  To  this  learned  doc- 


58  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

tor  Columbus  wrote,  and  announced  his  theory  and  intention  of 
testing  the  whole  question,  by  making  in  person  a  voyage  west 
ward  across  the  ocean,  and  his  desire  to  find  the  opportunity  of 
thus  demonstrating  the  true  shape  and  formation  of  the  earth  by 
sailing  around  it  ;  and  he  sent  to  the  doctor  a  small  globe  explain 
ing  his  views.  Dr.  Toscanelli's  answer  to  Columbus  is  dated 
June  25th,  1474,  in  which  he  applauds  in  enthusiastic  terms  the 
latter's  intention  of  sailing  westward,  imparts  to  him  much  new 
and  quaint  information  on  the  subject,  assures  him  of  success  in 
such  unmeasured  terms  as  to  assume  the  result  as  an  actual  fact, 
and  praises  his  zeal  for  the  extension  of  the  area  of  Christendom. 
Believing,  as  he  did,  in  the  practicability  of  reaching  India  by 
the  western  route,  as  proposed  by  Columbus,  Dr.  Toscanelli 
sent  to  the  former,  with  his  noble  letter  of  encouragement  and 
commendation,  and  as  a  return  for  the  globe  he  had  received 
from  him,  a  map  then  of  great  value,  which  was  prepared  and 
made  up  of  information  and  suggestions  partly  obtained  from 
the  celebrated  map  of  Ptolemy  and  partly  from  the  writings  of 
Marco  Polo.  This  celebrated  map,  which  was  carried  by  Colum 
bus  on  his  first  voyage — the  one  which  resulted  in  the  discovery 
of  America — confirmed  the  previous  impressions  of  Columbus, 
for  it  located  the  eastern  coasts  of  Asia  in  front  of  the  western 
coasts  of  Europe  and  Africa  ;  the  intervening  ocean  was  regarded 
as  the  great  highway  leading  from  Europe  to  Asia,  and  while  it 
seems  to  us  singular  how  the  width  of  the  Atlantic  could  have 
been  so  greatly  underestimated,  this  must  be  understood  as  a 
mistake  caused  partly  by  the  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  earth 
possessed  at  that  day,  and  by  the  corresponding  exaggeration 
by  Marco  Polo  and  other  authors  of  the  size  and  width  of  the 
continent  of  Asia,  and  its  supposed  vast  unknown  empires.  On 
this  early  and  pioneer  map  are  delineated  and  located,  at  con 
venient  but  conjectural  distances  apart,  the  great  continental 
islands  of  Cipango,  Antilla,  and  other  islands  of  Eastern  Asia. 
This  noted  map,  with  all  its  errors  and  misconceptions,  was  far 
in  advance  of  the  geographical  knowledge  of  the  age  in  which  it 
was  produced,  and  withal  contained  the  pregnant  and  fruitful 
germs  of  many  truths.  Columbus  was  wonderfully  encouraged 
and  animated  by  this  assuring  and  sympathetic  letter  of  Dr. 
Toscanelli,  and  his  mind  became  immovably  bent  on  the  great 
enterprise  upon  which  it  had  been  so  long  meditating.  He  pro- 


ON    COLUMBUS.  59 

cured  a  copy  of  the  work  of  Marco  Polo,  in  whose  learned  and 
fascinating  pages  he  read  of  the  vast  and  great  empires  of  Cathay 
and  Mangi,  of  their  boundless  riches  and  inexhaustible  resources, 
and  upon  whose  shores  a  navigator,  sailing  directly  westward 
from  Europe,  according  to  Dr.  Toscanelli,  would  be  certain  to 
land.  In  these  richly  laden  pages  Columbus  read  of  the  bound 
less  empire  of  the  Grand  Khan  of  Tartary,  of  his  wealth,  grandeur, 
and  power,  the  magnificence  and  splendor  of  the  metropolitan 
cities  of  Cambalu  and  Quinsai,  and  the  vastness  and  astounding 
details  of  the  immense  island  of  Cipango  or  Zipangi,  which  last 
is  located  in  the  ocean  five  hundred  leagues  from  and  opposite 
Cathay.  Cipango  abounded  in  gold,  spices,  precious  stones,  and 
the  choicest  articles  of  Oriental  wealth  and  commerce,  and  the 
sovereign  of  the  Imperial  Island  lived  in  palaces  of  immeasurable 
brilliancy,  splendor,  and  luxury,  the  very  roofs  of  which  were  of 
solid  gold.  While  Marco  Polo's  narratives  were  exaggerated  in 
their  details,  they  contained  much  that  was  substantially  true, 
and  we  now  know  that  Cathay  and  Mangi  were  Northern  and 
Southern  China,  and  Cipango  is  now  identified  with  Japan.  The 
map  and  letter  of  Toscanelli  and  the  work  of  Marco  Polo  had  an 
unbounded  influence  upon  the  mind  and  faith  of  Columbus. 
They  fired  up  to  the  highest  pitch  the  already  enkindled  and 
enthusiastic  imagination  of  that  bold  and  ardent  sailor,  and  they 
form  a  most  important  part  of  our  history,  by  reason  of  the  un 
tiring  and  active  influence  they  ever  afterward  exerted  on  the 
opinions,  theories,  actions,  and  career  of  the  future  admiral. 
During  the  whole  remaining  course  of  his  checkered  and  eventful 
life,  and  to  the  hour  of  his  death,  the  views  interchanged  between 
himself  and  Dr.  Toscanelli  remained  among  his  firm  convictions. 
As  he  presented  his  cause  to  one  nation  after  another,  he  de 
picted  the  grandeur  and  wealth  of  the  great  Asiatic  empires  he 
expected  to  reach  and  bring  into  relations  with  the  European 
world,  and,  in  his  deep  religious  feelings  and  zealous  propagan- 
dism,  he  hoped  to  bring  those  empires,  their  sovereigns  and  peo 
ples  to  embrace  the  Christian  faith.  Even  when  success  crowned 
his  efforts,  he  saw  in  the  islands  and  lands  he  discovered  the  out 
posts  of  the  great  Oriental  empires  depicted  on  the  map  of  Dr. 
Toscanelli  and  portrayed  in  the  graphic  pages  of  Marco  Polo. 
The  errors  as  to  the  size  of  Asia  and  the  width  of  the  earth,  east 
and  west,  were  fortunate  errors  ;  for  had  the  reality  been  known, 


60  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

Columbus  could  never  have  obtained  recognition,  nor  ships,  nor 
a  crew  of  sailors,  to  undertake  the  voyage. 

Columbus,  as  \ve  are  informed  by  his  son  and  biographer, 
Fernando  Columbus,  as  the  great  scheme  for  discovering  the 
remaining  unknown  portions  of  our  globe  developed  in  his  well- 
stored  mind,  arranged  the  grounds  upon  which  he  built  his 
propositions  and  plans  under  three  distinct  heads.  He  relied  in 
support  of  his  theories  on  three  sources  of  information  :  First, 
upon  the  very  nature  of  things  ;  second,  upon  the  authority  of 
learned  writers  ;  and,  third,  upon  the  reports  of  navigators. 
And  Columbus,  with  great  method  and  consummate  skill,  had 
arranged  his  arguments  and  facts  under  these  respective  heads  ; 
and  this  classification  well  represented  the  studies  of  his  subject 
through  which  he  had  passed. 

First  :  He  contended  that  the  earth  was  a  globe  or  terraqueous 
sphere  ;  that  the  circuit  of  this  earth  could  be  made  by  a  traveler 
going  either  east  or  west,  and  that  he  could  return  to  the  spot 
from  which  he  had  started  ;  he  boldly  announced  his  belief  in 
the  antipodes,  and  then,  following  Ptolemy,  he  divided  the  cir 
cumference  of  the  earth  from  east  to  west  into  twenty-four  hours, 
each  hour  containing  fifteen  degrees,  or  three  hundred  and  sixty 
degrees  in  all.  While  he  believed  that  the  ancients  had  known 
of  fifteen  hours,  extending  from  the  Canary  Islands  to  the  Asiatic 
city  of  Thinae,  which  was  supposed  to  be  the  most  eastern  limit 
of  the  known  world,  the  Portuguese  had  carried  the  western 
limits  an  hour  farther  west  by  discovering  the  Azores  and  Cape 
Verde  Islands  ;  and  he  computed  that  his  proposed  discoveries 
would  disclose  to  mankind  the  remaining  eight  hours — one  third — 
being  the  balance  or  unknown  portion  of  the  earth's  circumfer 
ence.  This  space  was  occupied  by  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  the 
eastern  portions  of  Asia,  and,  though  as  estimated  by  him  less 
than  the  actual  circumference  of  the  earth  as  now  known,  he 
thought  might  be  even  reduced  by  the  computation  of  Alfra- 
ganus,  the  Arabian  astronomer,  who  had  diminished  the  size  of 
the  degrees.  With  this  data,  drawn  from  the  nature  of  the 
earth,  correct  in  the  main  theory  and  erroneous  only  in  detail, 
he  contended  that  it  was  evident  that  a  vessel  sailing  from  east 
to  west  was  certain  to  reach  Asia,  and  whatever  islands  or  lands 
rested  in  the  intervening  space  of  the  ocean  would  thus  be  dis 
covered. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  6l 

Second  :  Under  the  second  head  Columbus  manifested  his 
usual  research  and  learning.  The  classic  authors  of  ancient 
Greece  and  Rome  afforded  him  far  greater  authority  for  his 
theory  even  than  modern  authors,  though  his  citations  were  well 
supported  by  the  latter.  Such  writers  as  Aristotle,  Seneca,  and 
Strabo  had  believed  that  a  ship  might  sail  iii  a  few  days  from 
Cadiz  to  the  Indies.  Strabo,  too,  had  contended  that  it  would 
be  quite  possible  for  a  vessel  to  navigate  on  the  same  parallel, 
due  west  from  the  coast  of  Africa  or  Spain  to  the  Indies,  and 
that  the  ocean  surrounds  the  earth,  washing  the  shores  of  India 
on  the  east  and  those  of  Spain  and  Mauritania  on  the  west.  A 
passage  from  Aristotle  is  too  remarkable  to  be  omitted,  and  may 
be  translated  thus  :  "  The  whole  inhabitable  world  consists  of  an 
island,  surrounded  by  an  ocean  called  the  Atlantic.  It  is  prob 
able,  however,  that  many  other  lands  exist,  opposite  to  this, 
across  the  ocean,  some  less,  some  greater  than  this  ;  but  all, 
except  this,  invisible  to  us. "  *  Plato's  "  Dialogues"  have  already 
been  alluded  to,  and  here  we  have  a  direct  allusion  to  a  great 
island  or  continent  called  Atlantis,  which  had  been  the  seat  of  a 
vast  population,  of  powerful  kingdoms,  and  of  an  advanced  civili 
zation  ;  but  that  a  great  cataclysm  had  involved  this  vast  island 
in  ruin  and  had  engulfed  it  in  the  ocean,  leaving  the  Atlantic 
unnavigable  by  reason  of  the  mud  and  slime  that  prevailed  in  its 
waters,  f  So,  too,  in  ^Elian  mention  is  made  of  "  Europe,  Asia, 
and  Africa  composing  one  island,  around  which  flows  the  ocean, 
the  boundary  of  the  world,  and  that  only  is  continent  which 
exists  beyond  the  ocean.  "  %  There  is  also  another  work  pub 
lished  among  the  writings  of  Aristotle,  but  which  some  authors 
attribute  to  one  of  his  disciples,  entitled  "  De  Mirabilibus, "  in 
which  it  is  related  that,  in  the  days  of  Carthage's  ascendency, 
certain  Carthaginian  merchants  sailed  over  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
and  after  many  days  arrived  at  a  large  island,  which  was  at  a 
great  distance  from  any  continent,  was  well  wooded,  watered 
with  great  rivers,  and  possessed  a  fertile  soil.  The  voyagers 
made  a  settlement  on  the  island,  had  their  families  brought 
thither,  and  the  colony  grew  in  power  and  population.  The 
magistrate  of  Carthage,  when  he  became  aware  of  this  new  em- 


*  Aristotle,  "  De  Mondo,"  cap.  iii.  f  Donnelly's  "Atlantis." 

J  "  Var.  Hist.,"  lib.  iii.,  cap.  xviii. 


62  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

pire  springing  up  in  the  ocean,  and  saw  the  mother  country  de 
pleted  of  its  population,  feared  that  the  new  nation  might  grow 
powerful  enough  to  endanger  the  independence  of  Carthage 
herself,  and  issued  his  edicts  forbidding  the  emigration  of  Car 
thaginians  for  this  new  settlement  under  penalty  of  death.  Pom- 
ponius  Mela*  relates  that  when  Quintus  Metellus  Celer  was  pro 
consul  of  Gaul,  the  King  of  Sweden  presented  him  with  Indians, 
who  had  been  driven  by  a  storm  upon  the  shores  of  Germany  ; 
and  although  the  Indian  Ocean  is  mentioned  as  the  medium  over 
which  they  had  been  carried  to  Germany,  the  absolute  absence 
of  any  such  water  communication  between  India  and  Germany  or 
Sweden  .would  leave  the  inference  complete  that  they  must  have 
been  borne  across  the  Atlantic.  Cornelius  Nepos  and  Pliny 
mention  this  same  circumstance.  It  is  also  related  by  Hugo 
Grotius  that,  in  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Frederick  Barbarossa, 
Indians  had  been  driven  by  a  storm  on  the  ocean  upon  the  shores 
of  Germany,  as  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  his  treatise  on  the 
origin  of  the  American  tribes. 

The  remarkable  lines  of  the  learned  Seneca,  written  in  the  first 
half  of  the  first  Christian  century,  are  regarded  as  wonderfully 
prophetic  of  the  discovery  of  America  : 

"  Venient  annis, 
Saecula  seris,  quibus  Oceanus 
Vincula  rerum  laxet,  et  ingens 
Pateat  Tellus,  Typhisque  novos 
Detegat  Orbes,  nee  sit  terris 
Ultima  Thule."f 

Mr.  Joshua  Toulman  Smith,  in  his  "  Northmen  in  America,"  thus 
freely  translates  this  passage,  now  nearly  nineteen  centuries  old, 
as  follows  :  . 

"  Naught  now  its  ancient  place  retains  ; 
Araxes'  banks  the  Indian  gains  ; 
The  Persian,  Elbe  and  Rhine  hath  found, 
Far  from  his  country's  ancient  bound. 
And  ages  yet  to  come  shall  see 
Old  Ocean's  limits  passed  and  free, 
Where  lands,  wide-stretched,  beyond  our  view  lie 
Remoter  than  remotest  Thule." 

The  Latin  professor  in  one  of  our  classical  colleges  has  furnished 
me  with  the  following  more  literal  and  graceful  translation  : 


*_"  De  Situ  Orbis,"  lib.  iii.,  cap.  v.  f  Seneca's  "  Medea." 


OX    COLUMBUS.  63 

*  An  age  in  the  dim  distant  future 

Shall  the  bonds  of  the  ocean  unbind  ; 

Shall  open  up  earth  to  its  limits, 
And  continents  new  shall  it  find, 

When  ultima  Thule  has  left 

But  a  name  or  a  record  behind." 

In  more  modern  times,  about  two  centuries  before  Columbus 
announced  his  intention  of  revealing  to  the  world  the  undiscov 
ered  lands  of  the  western  ocean,  Dante  had  announced  in  divine 
verses  his  belief  in  such  a  fact : 

"  De'  vostri  sensi,  ch'  £  del  rimanente, 

Non  vogliate  negar  1'esperienza,  • 

Diretro  al  sol,  del  mondo  senza  gente."* 

This  beautiful  passage  has  been  admirably  rendered  by  Carey, 
as  follows  : 

"  '  O  brothers,'  I  began,  '  who  to  the  West 

Through  perils  without  number  now  have  reach'd, 
To  this  the  short  remaining  match,  that  yet 
Our  senses  have  to  wake,  refuse  not  proof 
Of  the  unpeopled  world,  following  the  track 
Of  Phoebus.' " 

And  Longfellow,  our  own  illustrious  countryman,  has  rendered 
the  same  inspired  words  of  the  divine  Dante  into  the  following 
expressive  English  verses  : 

"  '  O  brothers,  who  amid  a  hundred  thousand 
Perils,'  I  said,  'have  come  unto  the  west, 
To  this  so  inconsiderable  vigil 
Which  is  remaining  of  your  senses  still, 
Be  ye  unwilling  to  deny  the  knowledge, 
Following  the  sun,  of  the  unpeopled  world.'" 

The  "  Cosmographia"  of  Cardinal  Aliaco,  who  was  born  in 
1340  and  died  in  1425,  was  a  favorite  work  with  Columbus,  and 
while  the  text  and  the  map  accompanying  the  same  partake 
greatly  of  the  marvellous,  for  myths  go  hand  in  hand  with  facts 
and  history,  it  gave  valuable  information  on  the  subjects  of 
Columbus's  deep  and  constant  thought  and  study. 

But  the  most  remarkable  passage,  that  occurs  in  any  work  pub 
lished  before  Columbus  had  achieved  his  great  discovery,  is  one 
in  the  "  Morgante  Maggiore"  of  the  Florentine  poet  Pulci,  who 
makes  the  devil  answer  his  companion  Rinaldo,  in  allusion  to  the 


*  Dante's  "  Inferno,"  cant.  26,  v.  115. 


64  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

common  superstition  respecting  the  end  of  the  earth  being 
located  at  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  our  modern  Gibraltar,  thus  : 

"  Know  that  this  theory  is  false  ;  his  bark 
The  daring  mariner  shall  urge  far  o'er 
The  western  wave,  a  smooth  and  level  plain, 
Albeit  the  earth  is  fashioned  like  a  wheel. 
Man  was  in  ancient  days  of  grosser  mould, 
And  Hercules  might  blush  to  learn  how  far 
Beyond  the  limits  he  had  vainly  set, 
The  dullest  sea-boat  soon  shall  wing  her  way. 
Men  shall  descry  another  hemisphere, 
Since  to  one  common  centre  all  things  tend  ; 
So  earth,  by  curious  mystery  divine 
Well  balanced,  hangs  amid  the  starry  spheres. 
At  our  antipodes  are  cities,  states, 
And  thronged  empires,  ne'er  divined  of  yore  ; 
But  see,  the  Sun  speeds  on  his  western  path 
To  glad  the  nations  with  expected  light."* 

The  author  of  these  enlightened  verses,  showing  a  knowledge  of 
scientific  facts  not  fully  demonstrated  until  more  than  a  century 
afterward,  was  a  contemporary  of  Columbus.  He  was  born  at 
Florence  in  1431,  and  died,  before  the  admiral  had  succeeded  in 
getting  any  recognition  of  his  theories,  1487.  The  "  Morgante 
Maggiore"  of  Pulci  was  first  published  at  Florence  in  1481. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  work  of  Marco  Polo,  who  had 
traveled  through  many  parts  of  Asia  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
and  the  influence  it  exerted  upon  the  mind,  theories,  and  subse 
quent  career  of  Columbus  He  also  attached  great  importance 
to  the  work  of  Sir  John  Mandeville,  an  English  traveler,  who 
in  the  fourteenth  century  proceeded  to  the  East,  visited  the  holy 
places  in  Palestine,  and  by  the  favor  of  the  Sultan  of  Egypt 
acquired  facilities  for  traveling  through  Armenia,  Persia,  India, 
Tartary,  and  Northern  China,  which  last-named  country  was 
then  called  in  the  books  Cathay.  It  is  curious  and  interesting  to 
notice  in  the  life  and  writings  of  Columbus  how  his  strong  mind, 
while  appropriating  all  the  solid  learning  and  verified  facts  re 
lated  by  these  learned  and  enterprising  authors  and  travelers, 
was,  like  their  own  minds,  swayed  by  the  mixture  of  fact  and 
fable  which  characterized  theirs  and  all  the  other  cosmographi- 


*  Pulci,    "  Morgante   Maggiore,"  cant.  25,  st.  230.     I  have  given   Mr.    Prescott's 
translation  of  these  verses.     See  his  "  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  117. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  65 

cal  works  of  that  and  of  previous  ages.  It  was  from  such  sources 
that  Columbus  derived  his  idea  of  the  vastness  of  the  Continent 
of  Asia,  which  he  believed  filled  the  greater  part  of  the  unex 
plored,  space  of  the  earth's  surface,  and  left  the  width  of  the 
ocean  to  be  crossed  only  about  four  thousand  miles  from  Lisbon 
to  the  province  of  Mangi,  near  Cathay,  now  known  to  be  North 
ern  China.  Columbus  concluded  that  a  voyage  of  no  long  dura 
tion  would  carry  him  to  the  eastern  provinces  of  Asia  and  the 
vast  and  opulent  adjacent  islands.  Dr.  Toscanelli,  the  learned 
Florentine  correspondent  of  Columbus,  had  also  transmitted  to 
him  a  letter  he  had  previously  written  to  Fernando  Martinez, 
the  learned  canon  of  Lisbon  already  mentioned,  giving  a  mag 
nificent  description  of  those  wealthy  Asiatic  regions,  taken  from 
the  work  of  Marco  Polo,  maintaining  the  practicability  of  the 
western  Atlantic  route  to  Asia,  and  mapping  out  the  voyage  as 
laying  in  the  route  of  the  opulent  and  favored  islands  of  Antilla 
and  Cipango,  at  whose  safe  harbors  the  ships  of  such  an  expedi 
tion  could  touch,  replenish  their  supplies,  rest  their  crews,  and 
open  those  rich  and  productive  markets  to  the  commerce  of 
Europe.  It  was  even  undertaken  to  show  the  distance  between 
Antilla  and  Cipango,  which  was  stated  at  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five' leagues.  The  previously  conceived  views  and  plans 
of  Columbus  were  greatly  confirmed  by  such  cogent  and  respect 
able  authorities,  and  his  alert  mind  expanded  to  the  vast  achieve 
ments  which  it  had  originated. 

Third  :  The  reports  of  navigators  concerning  their  voyages, 
and  the  indications  of  unexplored  lands  which  they  had  observed, 
also  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  mind  of  Columbus.  In  that 
active  age  of  discovery  every  circumstance,  however  trifling  in 
itself,  was  seized  upon  to  confirm  the  aspirations  of  ambitious  ex 
plorers  and  discoverers.  Columbus  allowed  nothing  of  this  sort 
to  escape  his  vigilant  eye.  His  theories  were  confirmed  by 
numerous  objects  which  had  floated  ashore  in  Europe  from  the 
ocean,  as  so  many  indications  of  the  existence  of  western  lands  ; 
shreds  of  knowledge  derived  from  the  veteran  navigators  of  the 
coast  of  Africa  ;  the  statements  and  rumors  current  among  the 
inhabitants  of  the  newly  discovered  islands  along  the  African 
coasts  ;  the  statement  of  an  old  Portuguese  pilot  named  Martin 
Vincenti,  that  he  had  taken  from  the  ocean  a  piece  of  carved 
wood,  evidently  wrought  with  an  iron  tool,  at  a  distance  of  four 


66  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

hundred  and  fifty  leagues  west  of  Cape  St.  Vincent ;  the  reported 
sight  of  a  similar  piece  of  wood  by  his  brother-in-law,  Pedro 
Cor6a,  on  the  island  of  Porto  Santo  ;  the  narration  by  the  King  of 
Portugal  concerning  the  reeds  of  immense  size,  which  had  floated 
to  the  shores  of  some  of  the  Portuguese  islands  in  the  Atlantic  from 
the  west,  and  which  Columbus  recognized  as  answering  the 
description  of  the  mighty  reeds  which  Ptolemy  describes  as  grow 
ing  in  India — all  these,  and  other  similar  reports,  brought  the 
theories  of  Columbus  to  a  certain  conviction  of  fact.  Following 
up  this  line  of  inquiry,  his  notes  show  that  he  received  also  infor 
mation  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  Azores  of  large  trunks  of 
great  pine-trees,  such  as  never  grew  on  these  islands,  which 
were  floated  to  their  shores  from  the  western  ocean.  Still  more 
important  and  startling,  he  was  informed  of  the  floating  ashore, 
on  the  island  of  Flores,  of  the  bodies  of  two  dead  men,  whose 
features  were  not  similar  to  those  of  any  of  the  then  known  races 
of  men.  A  mariner  of  the  port  of  St.  Mary  reported  that,  in  a 
recent  voyage  to  Ireland,  he  and  his  crew  had  seen  lands  to  the 
west,  which  they  believed  were  the  remote  eastern  lands  of  Tar- 
tary.  The  traditions  and  fables  of  the  past  centuries  were  re 
vived  in  a  maritime  age  like  that,  such  as  those  relating  to  St. 
Brandon's  Island,  the  islands  of  the  Seven  Cities,  and  other 
similar  mythical  colonies  of  less  enlightened  times.  It  is  inter 
esting  to  observe  from  his  notes,  referred  to  by  his  son  Fernando, 
how  the  practical  mind  of  Columbus,  though  now  worked  up  to 
a  degree  of  wonderful  enthusiasm,  distinguished  between  fable 
and  fact.  He  saw,  however,  from  all  these  things,  that  an  un 
broken  tradition — such,  no  doubt,  as  Mr.  VVinsor  builds  his  whole 
work  on  Columbus  upon — showed  the  belief  of  ages  that  many 
undiscovered  lands  existed,  and  that  the  field  of  enterprise  was 
open  to  him,  and  that  the  time  had  come. 

The  authors  to  whom  I  have  referred  show,  not  the  current 
and  ordinary  belief  of  the  age  in  which  Columbus  lived,  but  they 
are  wholly  the  examples  of  the  most  advanced  and  exceptional 
thought  in  preceding  times  and  in  his  own.  We  have  shown  in 
our  first  chapter  how  the  Atlantic  was  regarded  as  the  Sea  of 
Darkness,  and  the  hearts  of  the  most  experienced  navigators  re 
coiled  with  fear  from  its  terrors.  Asia  was  then  unexplored  ;  the 
size  and  shape  of  the  earth  were  unknown  ;  the  ocean  was  a  sealed 
mystery  and  a  seething  vortex  of  death  ;  the  laws  of  specific 


ON  COLUMBUS.  67 

gravity  and  of  central  gravitation  had  not  been  discovered  ;  and 
it  was  natural  under  these  circumstances  that  astonishment  and 
opposition  should  be  provoked  by  so  daring  a  project  as  that  of 
Columbus.  These  facts,  however,  also  show  how  Columbus, 
availing  himself  of  rare  works  and  studies,  had  advanced  to  a 
conviction  far  beyond  the  development  of  knowledge  and  science 
in  his  age.  It  is  an  unchallenged  fact  that  to  Columbus  alone  is 
due  the  merit  of  this  great  discovery,  the  revelation  of  one  half 
the  world's  surface  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  other  half.  The 
achievement  proves  the  fact.  His  studies  and  struggles,  so  far 
in  advance  of  his  age  and  so  much  in  conflict  with  the  prevail 
ing  convictions  of  the  civilized  world,  present  a  most  interesting 
phase  in  the  history  of  the  human  mind — it  was  the  effort  of 
man,  led  by  one  master  mind,  to  assert  dominion  over  the  whole 
earth  ;  it  was  the  movement  of  human  intellect  to  cast  off  the 
inherited  ignorance  and  prejudices  of  ages  ;  it  was  a  vast  stride 
of  civilization,  of  science,  of  thought,  of  conquest.  Such  was 
the  mental  and  moral  movement,  with  all  its  train  of  social, 
political,  and  commercial  results,  in  which  the  world  was  led  by 
Christopher  Columbus.  Truly  did  he  say  of  himself  :  "  I  have 
been  seeking  out  the  secrets  of  nature  for  forty  years,  and  wher 
ever  ship  has  sailed,  there  have  I  voyaged." 

We  have  already  related  how  the  bold  plans  of  Columbus  for 
discovering  the  remaining  undiscovered  portions  of  the  earth, 
and  for  exploring  the  space  of  ocean  between  Europe  and  Asia, 
had  matured  in  his  mind  as  early  as  the  year  1474.  Between 
that  time  and  the  period  of  his  final  career  of  success,  which  we 
are  now  approaching,  it  would  seem  that  he  actually  proposed 
his  plans  first  to  his  native  city  of  Genoa  and  then  to  Venice, 
"  the  city  by  the  sea."  The  times  and  circumstances  of  these 
negotiations  are  not  precisely  known,  and  some  obscurity  rests 
upon  this  part  of  the  admiral's  career.  It  is  thought  that,  from 
motives  of  patriotism  and  love  for  his  native  place,  he  proposed 
to  Genoa  first  to  take  up  his  scheme  and  supply  him  with  ships 
to  carry  it  into  execution.  Not  only  was  his  proposal  refused  by 
the  Senate  of  Genoa,  but,  after  pleading  the  depleted  condition 
of  the  public  treasury,  they  even  threw  doubts  upon  his  being 
the  originator  of  the  theory  and  plan.  They  alleged  that  the 
records  of  their  city  showed  that,  two  hundred  years  before,  two 
noble  Genoese  captains  had  sailed  westward  over  the  Atlantic, 


68  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

and  had  never  returned  or  been  heard  of.  Turning  next  to 
Venice,  he  met  with  a  courteous  but  firm  refusal.  It  is  probable 
that  these  events  occurred  prior  to  1476,  as  it  is  asserted  that 
from  Venice  he  returned  to  visit  his  aged  and  venerable  father 
at  Savona,  whom  he  found  bent  under  his  seventy  years  and  his 
lifelong  embarrassments,  and  that  he  assisted  his  good  parent 
from  his  own  scanty  means.  He  returned  to  Lisbon,  which  was 
then  and  for  many  years  the  central  point  of  nautical  and  geo 
graphical  enterprise.*  « 

At  length  the  time  seemed  to  have  arrived  for  Columbus  to 
advance  upon  his  great  mission.  The  epoch  seemed  propitious. 
The  late  King  Alphonso  had  been  too  much  occupied  with 
dynastic  and  political  ambitions  to  embark  in  other  and  more 
beneficent,  though  expensive  undertakings.  Yet  it  is  thought 
that  Columbus  proposed  his  plans  to  him  before  the  death 
of  that  king.  Though  the  expeditions  commenced  along  the 
coast  of  Africa  by  Prince  Henry  the  Navigator  had  produced 
great  results  for  Portugal,  and  though  the  mariner's  compass 
had  grown  into  more  extensive  application,  the  mind  of  the  king 
and  the  sentiments  of  the  people  had  not  thrown  off  the  timidity 
and  fear  of  the  ocean,  which  had  been  transmitted  to  the  Europe 
of  the  fifteenth  century  from  past  ages.  But  now,  in  1481,  a 
young,  more  intelligent,  and  ambitious  monarch  had  reached  the 
throne  of  Portugal  in  the  person  of  John  II.;  the  invention  of 
printing  had  given  great  impetus  to  all  kinds  of  study  and  re 
search,  and  the  secrets  of  knowledge  were  now  an  open  book  to 
all.  The  young  king  seemed  to  have  succeeded  to  the  energy 
and  enterprise  of  Prince  Henry.  He  erected  a  fort  at  St.  George 
de  la  Mina,  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  for  the  protection  of  Portu 
guese  commerce,  and  looked  with  pride  upon  the  maritime 
achievements  of  his  country.  The  publication  of  the  geographi 
cal  works  of  Marco  Polo,  Sir  John  Mandeville,  and  other  great 
travelers  and  geographers  had  deeply  interested  all,  and  now 
the  narratives  of  Benjamin  ben  Jonah,  of  Tudela,  in  Spain,  in 
tensified  the  already  deep  interest  felt  in  the  study  of  the  earth 
and  the  remote  nations,  empires,  and  countries  thereof.  Rabbi 
Benjamin  had  started  from  Saragossa  in  1173,  with  the  view  of 


*  On  these   points   the   reader  can   consult  with  interest  the   pages  of  Irving  and 
Tarducci. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  69 

reaching  the  remnants  of  the  scattered  tribes  of  Israel,  wandered 
over  almost  the  entire  Oriental  countries,  advanced  into  China, 
and  reached  the  extreme  southern  Asiatic  islands.*  So  popular 
and  instructive  was  this  work,  that  after  its  translation  into 
Western  European  languages,  it  had  sixteen  editions.  To  this 
publication  was  added  the  works  of  travel  by  the  two  friars, 
Carpini  and  Ascelin,  whom  Pope  Innocent  IV.  had  sent  as  apos 
tolic  envoys,  respectively  in  1246  and  1247,  to  announce  the 
Gospel  to  the  Grand  Khan  of  Tartary.  So  also  was  read  with 
avidity  the  journal  of  William  Rubruquis,  a  Franciscan  monk  of 
the  Cordelier  branch  of  that  order,  whom  St.  Louis,  King  of 
France,  had  dispatched  on  a  like  pious  errand,  and  who  went 
forth  from  the  French  crusade  at  Palestine,  in  1253.  The  publi 
cation  of  these  great  works  in  print  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and 
their  influence  on  the  learned  mind  of  Europe  and  their  promo 
tion  of  the  spirit  of  maritime  enterprise  and  inland  continental 
exploration,  form  an  interesting  guide  in  estimating  how  greatly 
the  invention  of  printing  was  influential  in  hastening  the  dis 
covery  of  America.  So  prominently  did  the  famous  and  long- 
sought-for  Christian  monarch  of  the  East,  Prester  John,  figure 
in  most  of  these  narratives,  that,  as  late  as  the  times  of  which 
I  am  now  writing,  King  John  II.  of  Portugal  sent  pious  mission 
aries  in  search  of  this  mythical  and  renowned  personage,  with  the 
desire  of  reuniting  him  and  his  supposed  Christian  subjects  to 
the  one  fold  of  Christ.  He  determined  to  revive  the  efforts  of 
Prince  Henry,  and  he  expended  both  energy,  study,  and  treasure 
in  the  most  active  prosecution  of  nautical  and  astronomical 
studies  and  improvements,  and  in  increasing  the  means  and  appli 
ances  of  maritime  development.  In  his  efforts  to  secure  greater 
certainty  of  results  and  security  to  ships  and  crews,  as  well  as 
more  accurate  guides  and  means  of  navigation,  he  brought  to 
gether  the  three  most  learned  astronomers  and  cosmographers 
of  Portugal,  his  own  physicians,  Drs.  Joseph  and  Roderigo,  and 
the  distinguished  navigator,  Martin  Behaim  ;  and  the  grand  re 
sult  of  their  joint  studies,  researches,  and  experiments  was  the 
application  of  the  astrolabe  to  navigation,  by  whose  aid  mariners 
were  able  to  ascertain  at  sea  at  any  point  the  distance  from  the 


*  Irving's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  5.,  p.  62  ;     Bergeron,  "  Voyages  en  Asie,"  torn. 
1.  ;  Andres,  "  Hist.  B.  Let.,"  ii.,  cap.  6. 


70  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

equator.  The  effect  of  this  great  discovery  on  navigation  was 
magical.  The  learned  saw  in  it  the  loosing  of  the  shackles  which 
bound  the  gallant  ship  to  the  timid  limits  of  the  coastwise  navi 
gation,  and  the  unlearned  sailor  needed  only  to  experience  its 
unerring  guidance  at  sea  to  inspire  him  with  courage  to  brave 
the  terrors  of  the  ocean.  Yet  all  these  influences  were  princi 
pally  confined  for  the  time  to  the  learned  few,  and  to  the  ad 
vanced  thinkers  of  the  age  ;  but  there  was  no  living  navigator, 
whose  quick  and  experienced  mind  saw  the  value  of  this  great 
step,  and  appreciated  it  more  or  as  much,  as  that  of  Christopher 
Columbus.  He  saw  that  the  age  predicted  by  Seneca  had 
arrived,  when  the  bonds  of  the  ocean  should  be  loosed,  when  the 
earth's  limits  should  be  reached,  and  when  a  man  of  skill  and  of 
courage  should  discover  continents.  He  saw  at  once  from  the 
astrolabe  that 

"  the  sky 
Spreads  like  an  ocean  hung  on  high." 

It  seemed  at  first  like  a  providence  that  had  led  his  steps  to 
Lisbon,  whose  king  and  court  were  such  enthusiastic  patrons  of 
maritime  science  and  discoveries.  His  mind  did  not  rely  upon 
common  report  or  popular  rumor  and  conjecture  ;  with  him  it 
was  an  immovable  conviction  resting  upon  scientific  data.  At 
the  same  time,  being  of  a  sanguine  temperament,  his  enthusiasm 
rose  to  the  highest  elevation,  and  he  felt  himself  justified  in  meet 
ing  kings  and  courts,  and  claiming  the  trial  and  the  inevitable 
and  just  reward  of  his  labors  and  researches.  So  exalted  was 
his  perception  of  the  truth,  that  he  felt  that  he  could  dictate  his 
own  terms  to  those  who  would  reap  the  fruits  of  his  bold  con 
ceptions.  At  the  same  time,  he  regarded  even  a  hearing  as  a 
boon.  In  his  intercourse  with  men  he  was  courteous,  simple, 
and  gracious,  and  used  both  the  persuasiveness  of  his  eloquence 
and  the  cogency  of  his  arguments.  He  knew  that  King  John  of 
Portugal  was  most  anxious  to  find  the  route  to  India,  for  which 
Prince  Henry  had  sought  so  many  years,  and  this  he  thought 
opened  to  him  his  opportunity.  He  sought  an  audience  with  the 
king,  which,  after  some  delay  and  hesitation,  was  granted.  He 
now  presented  his  plan  of  a  shorter,  more  direct,  and  safer  route 
to  the  coveted  regions  of  India,  and  proposed  that,  if  the  king 
would  supply  him  with  the  necessary  vessels,  he  would  accom 
plish  the  voyage  to  India,  not  by  sailing  around  Africa,  as  the 


ON   COLUMBUS.  71 

Portuguese  had  been  for  years  endeavoring  to  do,  but  by  sailing 
directly  westward  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  He  supported  his 
proposals  by  arguments  and  facts  drawn  from  the  nature,  size, 
and  shape  of  the  earth,  from  the  writings  of  learned  authors,  and 
from  the  reports  of  veteran  navigators.  While  he  dwelt  elo 
quently  on  the  vastness  and  wealth  of  the  Asiatic  empires  he 
would  find,  he  expressed  the  conviction  that  Cipango,  the  great 
island  of  unbounded  opulence,  would  be  the  first  land  he  would 
reach  on  his  route. 

Fernando  Columbus,*  no  doubt  deriving  his  information  from 
the  note-books  of  his  father,  represents  King  John  as  receiving 
favorably  these  startling  proposals,  but  that  he  declined  them  at 
first  on  account  of  the  vast  expenditure  already  incurred  in  en 
deavoring  to  reach  Asia  by  the  African  coastwise  route  ;  that 
Columbus  sustained  his  proposals  with  such  facts  and  reasons, 
enforced  them  with  such  eloquence,  that  the  king  consented  to  the 
proposals  ;  but,  when  it  came  to  the  adjustment  of  the  terms,  as 
Columbus  demanded  concessions  of  such  titles  and  substantial 
rewards,  commensurate  with  the  magnificent  results  he  felt  sure 
of  accomplishing,  that  the  negotiation  fell  through.  The  Portu 
guese  historians,  however,  represent  the  king  as  regarding 
Columbus  as  overconfident  and  vainly  presumptuous,  and  treated 
him  merely  with  royal  condescension.  In  fact,  the  king's  credu 
lity  in  Oriental  fables  far  exceeded  the  enthusiasm  of  Columbus 
in  behalf  of  a  rational,  but  then  regarded  as  a  new  and  rash  enter 
prise.  The  proposals  were  referred  by  the  king  to  three  learned 
men,  Roderigo  and  Joseph,  two  expert  cosmographers,  and 
Diego  Ortiz  de  Cazadilla,  Bishop  of  Ceuta,  a  man  of  great  re 
puted  learning  ;  but  this  learned  Junto,  regarding  the  plan  as 
unfounded  and  chimerical,  reported  against  it.  But  as  King 
John  was  not  content  with  this  summary  method  of  disposing  of 
the  subject,  he  convened  a  council  composed  of  the  savans  of  the 
kingdom,  and  requested  their  views  on  the  subject.  Though  this 
learned  body  rejected  the  proposition  of  Columbus,  it  is  evident 
from  the  speeches  of  the  Bishop  of  Ceuta  and  of  the  Count  of 
Villa  Real,  Don  Pedro  de  Mereses,  that  Columbus  must  have 
gained  some  ground  with  the  council,  since  his  proposals  were 


*  "Historic,"  etc.,  cap.  xii.  ;    Mr.   Brownson's  translation   of    Tarducci's    "Co 
lumbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  66. 


72  OLD   AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

now  apparently  not  rejected  on  account  of  their  visionary  and 
impracticable  nature,  but  on  account  of  the  depleted  exchequer 
and  the  preference  of  the  Portuguese,  through  national  pride, 
for  the  route  proposed  by  Prince  Henry,  the  route  around  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  which  had  already,  in  its  prosecution,  led 
to  such  glorious  results  for  Portugal,  and  had  made  her  the  fore 
most  of  maritime  countries,  though  the  smallest.  Even  this  re 
sult  did  not  satisfy  the  inclinations  of  the  king  toward  an  effort 
to  accomplish  what,  if  successful,  would  crown  Portugal  and  his 
own  reign  with  imperishable  glory.  It  was  at  this  juncture  that 
Portugal  made  choice  of  a  course,  in  respect  to  Columbus  and 
his  noble  propositions,  as  disgraceful  as  the  opposite  course  would 
have  been  wise  and  honorable.  Yielding  to  the  dishonorable  sug 
gestions  of  one  of  his  council,  King  John,  after  mendaciously  pro 
curing,  as  if  for  the  council,  from  Columbus,  a  minute  plan  of  his 
proposed  voyage  and  the  maps  and  charts  illustrative  thereof, 
secretly  and  treacherously  dispatched  an  expedition  of  his  own, 
designed  to  rob  Columbus  of  his  glory  and  appropriate  it  for 
himself.  Thus  a  caravel  was  sent  out  to  cross  the  ocean  in  search 
of  the  promised  land  of  Columbus,  under  the  false  and  deceptive 
pretext  of  carrying  provisions  to  the  Cape  Verde  Islands. 
The  captain  had  instructions  to  pursue  the  route  westward  in 
dicated  by  Columbus.  After  the  departure  from  the  Cape 
Verde  Islands,  and  pursuing  the  westward  route  for  some  days, 
the  first  severe  weather,  accompanied  with  storms,  brought  back 
to  the  imaginations  and  faint  hearts  of  the  crew  the  traditional 
terrors  of  the  Sea  of  Darkness.  They  quailed  before  the  task, 
and  disgracefully  returned  to  the  land  they  had  disgracefully 
left.  To  shield  themselves,  they  had  recourse  to  open  ridicule 
and  raillery  against  Columbus  and  his  project,  representing  his 
plans  as  impossible,  vain,  and  absurd.* 

The  lofty  spirit  of  Columbus  rose  with  indignation  at  this 
treachery  when  he  heard  of  it,  more  especially  when  practised 
by  a  king  and  his  council.  He  proudly  rejected  every  offer  of 
the  king  to  enter  into  new  treaties.  Portugal  had  not  only  re 
jected  his  offers,  but  had  attempted  to  rob  him  of  his  glory.  He 
resolved  to  leave  the  treacherous  land.  The  loss  of  his  wife  in 


*  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "Columbus,"  vol.   i.  ;   Irving's  "Co 
lumbus,"  vol.  i. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  73 

1476  had  long  ago  broken  the  last  social  link  that  bound  him  to 
the  country. 

Mr.  Irving  justly  writes  of  the  difficulties  Columbus  experi 
enced  in  getting  recognition  of  his  grand  projects  :  "  To  such 
men  the  project  of  a  voyage  directly  westward,  into  the  midst 
of  that  boundless  waste,  to  seek  some  visionary  land,  appeared 
as  extravagant  as  it  would  be  at  the  present  day  to  launch  forth 
in  a  balloon  into  the  regions  of  space  in  quest  of  some  distant  star. " 

Taking  his  departure  from  Portugal,  in  the  autumn  of  1484, 
Columbus,  accompanied  by  his  young  son  Diego,  turned  his 
course  toward  Spain.  His  departure  from  Lisbon  was  a  secret 
one,  as  is  supposed  for  the  double  purpose  of  avoiding  forcible 
detention  by  the  treacherous  yet  envious  king,  or  by  his  creditors, 
for  the  former  was  desirous  of  reopening  negotiations  with  him  ; 
and  such  was  the  poverty  of  this  most  aspiring  man  of  the  age, 
that  he  was  probably  compelled  to  beg  his  bread,  or  purchase  it 
on  credit,  while  on  the  eve  of  bestowing  continents  on  mankind.* 

The  dignity  and  justice  of  history,  the  conservative  caution 
and  necessity  for  substantial  material  as  the  basis  of  a  statement  or 
conjecture,  which  ought  to  characterize  historical  criticism  of  an 
acceptable  standard,  should  have  prevented  historians  or  critics, 
such  as  Harrisse  and  Winsor,  from  uttering  another  calumny 
against  the  name  and  fame  of  so  eminent  and  historical  a  person 
age  as  Christopher  Columbus,  or  even  a  mere  sinister  insinuation 
—for  such  only  is  it — such  as  the  intimation  that  he  deserted  his 
first  wife  and  other  children  when  he  left  Portugal  in  the  latter 
part  of  1484.  Winsor,  unreasonably  following  Harrisse,  to 
whom  he  himself  attributes  habitual  scepticism,  gives  expression 
to  this,  among  his  many  calumnies  against  the  great  discoverer, 
in  the  following  illogical  and  unhistorical  passage  :  "  Irving  and 
the  biographers  in  general  find  in  the  death  of  Columbus's  wife 
a  severing  of  the  ties  which  bound  him  to  Portugal  ;  but  if  there 
is  any  truth  in  the  tumultuous  letter  which  Columbus  wrote  to 
Donna  Juana  de  la  Torre,  in  1500,  he  left  behind  him  in  Portugal, 
when  he  fled  into  Spain,  a  wife  and  children.  If  there  is  the 
necessary  veracity  in  the  '  Historic,'  this  wife  had  died  before 


*  Irving's  "Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  69  ;  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's 
"  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  !.,  pp.  70,  71.  See  also  the  Count  de  Lorgues'  "  Columbus." 
and  the  general  list  of  authors  herein  given,  bearing  on  the  subject  of  Columbus,  etc. 


74  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

he  abandoned  the  country.  That  he  had  other  children  at  this 
time  than  Diego  is  only  known  through  this  sad,  ejaculatory 
epistle.  If  he  left  a  wife  in  Portugal,  as  his  own  words  aver, 
Harrisse  seems  justified  in  saying  that  he  deserted  her,  and  in 
the  same  letter  Columbus  says  that  he  never  saw  her  again." 

Now  the  letter  in  question  had  no  reference  whatever  to  his 
leaving  Portugal  or  to  his  first  wife,  whom  he  married  in 
Madeira.  It  was  written  in  1500,  when  he  was  returning  to 
Spain  in  chains,  and  with  his  manacled  hands.  It  was  addressed 
to  a  friend  whom  he  had  at  court,  and  who,  he  knew,  would 
communicate  it  to  Queen  Isabella,  Donna  Juana  de  la  Torre  ;  and 
she,  in  fact,  did  communicate  the  letter  to  the  queen.  This 
letter  is  one  of  complaint  over  the  wrongs  he  was  then  suffering 
from  the  hands  of  Bobadilla,  in  the  name  of  the  sovereigns,  and 
was  an  appeal  to  them  for  justice,  to  which  end  he  recounted 
what  he  had  done  and  suffered  in  their  service.  Portugal  had 
passed  far  away  from  his  daily  memories,  at  that  dread  moment 
especially,  and  he  had  no  regrets  for  having  fifteen  years  before 
abandoned  a  country  where  he  had  met  with  nothing  but  delay, 
deception,  treachery,  and  \vrong.  The  wife  and  children  to 
whom  he  alluded  in  this  letter  were  Donna  Beatrix  Enriquez 
and  his  two  children,  Diego  and  Fernando,  all  of  whom  he 
had  left  living  together  at  Cordova,  in  order  to  embark  in  the 
perilous  and  momentous  service  of  the  Spanish  king  and  queen  ; 
his  family  was  never  reunited  again,  and  it  was  true,  as  stated 
by  Columbus  in  this  important  letter,  he  never  had  the  happi 
ness  of  living  with  his  family  again.  Such  was  the  treatment 
which  Columbus  had  received  in  Portugal,  that  it  would  be  a 
violent  interpretation  to  put  upon  a  letter  written  at  any  after 
period  by  him,  that  he  expressed  regrets  at  leaving  that  country, 
or  that  he  regarded  it,  as  in  any  sense,  a  sacrifice  to  have  ex 
changed  it  for  Spain. 

This  letter  serves  the  double  purpose  of  refuting  two  cal 
umnies,  which  Mr.  Winsor  repeats  after  other  writers,  against 
the  character  of  Columbus  :  first,  that  he  deserted  his  wife  and 
children  in  Portugal,  and  second,  that  he  was  never  married  to 
the  mother  of  his  second  son,  Fernando.  It  was,  in  fact,  his  son 
Fernando  who  accompanied  his  father  on  his  fourth  and  last 
voyage,  and  received  from  the  admiral's  lips  the  details  of  his 
eventful  life.  These  sacred  communications  between  the  father 


ON   COLUMBUS.  75 

and  son  were,  after  the  admiral's  death,  used  as  the  materials 
for  the  "  Historia  del  Almirante,"  written  by  this  devoted  son  ; 
and  in  this  important  work  Fernando  states  expressly  that  the 
admiral's  first  wife  died  before  he  left  Portugal.  Could  there 
be  a  better  witness  than  this,  who  repeated  the  very  account  he 
received  from  the  admiral  himself  ?  Is  it  possible  that  Columbus 
should,  in  this  very  same  voyage,  in  a  letter  to  Donna  Juana  de 
la  Torre,  have  contradicted  what  he  had  just  told  Fernando  ? 
But  Mr.  Winsor,  in  order  to  maintain  his  accusation  against 
Columbus,  found  it  necessary  to  deny  the  veracity  of  his  son  and 
historian,  Fernando  Columbus.  It  is  the  uniform  voice  of  his 
tory  that  the  character  of  Fernando  Columbus  was  above  re 
proach.  In  a  Spanish  work  giving  the  history  of  the  eminent 
families  of  the  very  city  in  which  Fernando  was  born,  he  is  spoken 
of  as  "a  gentleman  of  great  intelligence,  bravery,  virtue,  and 
a  great  scholar." 

The  letter  of  Columbus  to  Donna  Juana  de  la  Torre,  which  Mr. 
Winsor  uses  so  uncandidly  as  the  basis  of  his  assertion  that 
Columbus,  in  1484,  deserted  his  first  wife  and  children  in  Por 
tugal,  was,  on  the  contrary,  relied  upon  by  other  writers  as 
proof  of  the  opposite  conclusion,  and  they  applied  it  to  his  leav 
ing  his  second  wife,  Beatrix  Enriquez,  and  his  two  sons  at  Cor 
dova,  in  order  to  find  a  new  world  for  Spain.  Count  Roselly 
•de  Lorgues,  in  his  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  writes  of  this  very  point 
as  follows  :  "  Finally,  these  assurances  (as  to  the  legitimacy  of 
Columbus's  relations  with  Beatrix)  received  their  last  irrefraga 
ble  guarantee  from  the  very  hand  of  Columbus  himself.  In  a 
letter  to  persons  whose  duty  he  considered  it  was  to  support 
his  reclamations  at  the  court  of  Spain,  he  reminds  them  that  for 
the  service  of  the  crown  he  quitted  all — wife  and  children — and 
never  enjoyed  the  sweetness  of  living  with  his  family."*  Mr. 
Fiske,  with  the  same  misconception  of  the  allusions  in  the  letter, 
draws  quite  a  different  conclusion — one,  on  the  contrary,  honor 
able  to  Columbus.  He  says  :  ' '  My  own  notion  is  that  Colum 
bus  may  have  left  his  wife  with  an  infant  and  perhaps  one  older 
child,  relieving  her  of  the  care  of  Diego  by  taking  him  to  his 
aunt"  (in  Spain),  "  and  intending  as  soon  as  practicable  to  reunite 


*  Winsor's  "  Columbus, "etc.,  p.  154  ;  Count  Roselly  de  Lorgues'  "  Life  of  Colum 
bus,"  by  Dr.   Barry,  p.  43. 


76  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

the  family.  He  clearly  did  not  know  at  the  outset  whether  he 
should  stay  in  Spain  or  not."  * 

But  now  we  have  the  result  of  the  researches  of  Senhor 
Pereira,  Director  of  the  National  Library  at  Lisbon,  and  of 
Senhora  Regina  Maney,  among  the  national  archives  of  Portugal 
— results  bearing  directly  and  powerfully  on  this  point.  For  the 
information  they  thus  give  on  the  subject  we  are  indirectly 
indebted  to  Mr.  Winsor  himself,  for  in  her  preface  Senhora 
Maney  states  that  when  she  applied  to  the  Director  of  the 
National  Library  at  Lisbon  to  join  her  in  her  researches,  "  he 
opened  our  Winsor's  book  on  Columbus  at  the  page  where  that 
author  intimates  that  much  that  was  new  could  probably  be 
learned  about  Columbus  from  documents  not  yet  examined  in 
the  Torre  de  Tombo  (the  national  archives)."  They  accordingly 
looked  where  Mr.  Winsor  pointed  the  way,  and  most  of  their 
conclusions  are  based  upon  those  very  archives.  "  In  1476 
Diego  Columbus  was  born,  the  only  fruit  of  this  union,  the  little 
fecundity  of  which  has  been  to  us  an  object  of  some  reflection, 
when  we  consider  the  healthy  stock  both  Donna  Philippa  and 
Columbus  sprang  from,  as  well  as  a  few  facts  several  writers 
hint  at  with  regard  to  the  epoch  of  that  lady's  death. 

"  In  Pira  Loureiro's  genealogical  work,  whose  twenty-eight 
volumes  have  been  most  useful  to  us,  we  see  the  confirmation  of 
our  suspicion  that  the  death  of  Columbus's  wife  must  have  fol 
lowed  quite  close  upon  the  birth  of  her  son.  Before  the  name 
of  Donna  Philippa  is  to  be  read  the  summary  notice,  '  that  she 
did  not  live  long  after  the  birth  of  her  son.'  Did  she  die  in 
child-bed  ?  Did  she  enjoy  only  a  few  days  or  weeks  of  the  in 
effable  happiness  of  being  a  mother  ? 

'  This  species  of  revelation,  which  by  itself  cannot  define  an 
epoch,  contains  a  fact  in  the  life  of  Columbus  that  has  a  certain 
logical  value  in  turning  that  life  less  vague,  which  has  much 
impressed  us.  This  fact  consists  in  the  departure  of  the  daring 
navigator  for  the  Arctic  regions  in  1477. 

"  We  observe  Columbus  got  married  in  1475,  had  a  son  born 
to  him  in  1476,  and  left  for  a  most  dangerous  voyage  in  1477, 
there  existing  no  known  engagement  of  any  kind  or  plans  con 
ceived  and  matured  beforehand.  The  rapid  succession  of  the 


*  Fiske's  "  Discovery  of  America,"  vol.  i.,  p.  399,  note. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  77 

three  facts  has  a  something1  of  mystery  about  it,  on  account  of 
the  precipitation  of  the  latter.  Reason  and  heart  alike  refuse  to 
believe  that  the  peaceful  life  of  Columbus  and  Donna  Philippa, 
who  saw  their  union  blessed  and  their  poor  home  gladdened  by 
the  birth  of  a  son,  should  in  the  very  year  following  this  event 
be  rudely  disturbed  by  a  long  separation  without  a  sudden  and 
powerful  motive. 

The  above  transcribed  phrase,  and  the  fact  of  this  rather 
violent  separation,  concur  in  perfect  harmony  in  fixing  the  epoch 
of  Donna  Philippa's  death  as  between  the  birth  of  the  son  and 
the  voyage  of  her  husband  to  the  northern  seas. 

'  The  grandmother  of  the  little  boy-child  was  to  take  the  place 
of  the  mother,  substituting  her  love  and  care  for  that  of  which 
death  deprived  the  poor  infant  all  too  soon.  The  father,  pro 
foundly  wounded  in  his  passionate  attachment  to  his  wife,  took 
one  of  those  extreme  resolutions  in  which  great  moral  sufferings 
sometimes  end."  * 

The  important  facts  thus  arrayed  by  these  accomplished  Por 
tuguese  scholars,  as  I  am  credibly  informed  they  are,  already 
confirmed  by  the  explicit  statement  in  Loureiro's  genealogical 
works,  receive  further  confirmation  from  Columbus's  voyages 
among  the  islands  and  main  stations  in  Portuguese  Africa  imme 
diately  after  his  return  from  Iceland,  from  his  abandonment  of 
Funchal  and  Machico  as  a  residence,  his  return  to  Lisbon,  his 
long  and  ultimate  stay  in  that  capital,  and  the  fact  that  during 
the  remaining  seven  years  of  his  sojourn  in  Portugal  no  mention 
is  made  of  Philippa  or  of  his  having  a  wife.  Repeating  the 
cogent  language  of  the  authors  of  "The  Wife  of  Columbus," 
"  heart  and  reason  alike  refuse  to  believe"  that  it  was  possible 
that  Columbus  under  such  circumstances  and  facts  could  have 
"  deserted"  her,  who  had  married  him  in  poverty  at  Funchal, 
and  shared  his  sorrows. 


*  "  The  Wife  of  Columbus,"  Pereira  and  Maney,  pp.  46,  47. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

"  Ay,  nerve  thy  spirit  to  the  proof, 

And  blench  not  at  thy  chosen  lot  ; 
The  timid  good  may  stand  aloof, 

The  sage  may  frown — yet  faint  thou  not ! 
Nor  heed  the  shaft  too  surely  cast, 

The  hissing,  stinging  bolt  of  scorn  ; 
For  with  thy  side  will  dwell  at  last 
The  victory  of  endurance  borne." 

— BRYANT. 

THOUGH  Columbus  left  Lisbon  in  the  autumn  of  1484,  we  have 
no  traces  of  his  immediate  movements  or  presence  until  the  fol 
lowing  year.  Some  have  supposed  that  it  was  during  this  uncer 
tain  interval  that  he  made  propositions  to  Genoa  and  Venice. 
Such  was  his  filial  piety,  such  his  love  for  home,  that  he  now, 
no  doubt,  visited  and  assisted  his  venerable  father,  carrying  with 
him  his  son  Diego.  It  is  quite  probable,  as  asserted  by  some 
authors  upon  tradition  only  and  without  any  authentic  proofs  of 
the  fact,  that  from  Portugal  he  again  proceeded  to  Genoa,  in 
1484,  and  for  the  second  time  earnestly  pressed  his  application 
upon  the  Senate  of  his  native  city.  It  is  further  stated  that  the 
vessels  of  the  little  republic  were  all  needed  and  were  then 
actively  in  service  at  home,  and  not  a  ship  could  be  spared  for 
a  service  which  would  have  reflected  much  greater  profit  and 
honor  upon  the  Genoese. 

The  first  information  we  have  of  Columbus's  arrival  in  Spain, 
according  to  Mr.  Irving,*  was  in  the  year  1485.  According  to 
others  it  was  in  January,  1486.  The  chivalrous  spirit  of  that 
noble  nation,  its  zeal  for  the  ancient  faith  and  for  its  extension  to 
heathen  peoples,  the  union  of  the  crowns  of  Aragon  and  Castile 
under  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  and  the  intelligence  and  energy 
of  those  two  young  and  accomplished  sovereigns,  induced  him 
to  go,  discouraged  but  not  disheartened,  to  that  gallant  people. 


*  Irving's  "Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  72. 


ON    COLUMBUS.  79 

Tired,  however,  of  the  delays  and  disappointments  he  had  experi 
enced  at  the  various  governments  to  which  he  had  applied,  we 
find  him  first  in  the  south  of  Spain  negotiating  with  opulent  and 
powerful  noblemen,  such  as  the  Dukes  of  Medina  Sidonia  and 
Medina  Celi,  who  possessed  immense  estates,  who  even  main 
tained  armies  of  their  own,  and  were  more  like  allies  than  vassals 
of  the  crown.  The  Duke  of  Medina  Celi  received  Columbus  as 
his  guest,  and  was  so  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  practicability 
of  his  plans,  that  he  was  on  the  point  of  placing  at  his  disposal  a 
fleet  of  three  or  four  caravels  then  ready  for  sea  in  his  own  har 
bor  of  Port  St.  Mary,  near  Cadiz  ;  but  the  consideration  that 
such  an  undertaking  was  more  fitting  for  the  king  and  queen, 
and  that  he  might  thereby  provoke  the  animosity  of  the  crown, 
deterred  him  from  the  undertaking.  The  apprehension  that 
Columbus  would  go  to  France  caused  the  duke  to  give  him  a 
letter  to  Queen  Isabella,  in  which  he  recommended  him  and  his 
project  to  her  Majesty,  and  requested,  in  case  the  expedition 
was  undertaken,  that  himself  might  be  permitted  to  share  in  it. 
Columbus  repaired  at  once  to  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  then  hold 
ing  their  court  at  Cordova. 

There  is  a  singular  difference  in  the  account  given  of  this  part 
of  the  life  of  Columbus  by  Mr.  Irving  and  by  Senor  Tarducci. 
The  latter  does  not  find  any  trace  of  him  in  Spain  until  the  spring 
of  1486,  when  he  states  that  his  first  visit  to  the  Convent  of  La 
Rabida,  accompanied  by  his  son  Diego,  took  place.  Columbus 
is  represented  as  leaving  his  little  son  with  the  prior  of  the  con 
vent,  while  he,  supplied  with  money  for  his  journey,  a  letter 
of  introduction  to  the  Father  Prior  of  the  Monastery  of  El  Prado, 
and  fortified  with  the  blessing  and  encouragement  of  Father  Juan 
Perez  de  Marchena,  started  in  the  spring  of  1486  for  Cordova  to 
lay  his  proposals  before  the  sovereigns.  Mr.  Irving  makes 
Columbus  pay  but  one  visit  to  the  convent  before  the  signing  of 
the  capitulations  with  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  while  Tarducci 
relates  two  such  visits,  the  second  one  being  in  1491  or  1492, 
when  Columbus,  after  exhausting  all  his  efforts  with  the  crown, 
was  on  the  eve  of  departing  from  Spain  for  France. 

The  Count  de  Lorgues  states  that  Columbus  went  from  Por 
tugal  to  Genoa  and  Venice,  there  in  succession  had  his  proposal 
declined,  and  that  he  returned  to  Spain  in  1485,  when  his  first 
visit  to  the  Convent  of  La  Rabida  took  place.  He  also  states 


8O  OLD   AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

that  in  1491  or  1492  Columbus,  despairing  of  aid  from  Spain, 
was  about  to  go  to  France,  but  paid  a  second  visit  to  the  Con 
vent  of  La  Rabida.  Yet  the  still  later  account  of  Justin  Winsor, 
in  1891,  shows  that  author  unable  to  determine  whether  Colum 
bus  visited  the  Convent  of  La  Rabida  once  or  twice.  In  one 
place  he  writes  :  "  Ever  since  a  physician  of  Palos,  Garcia  Fer 
nandez,  gave  his  testimony  in  the  lawsuit  through  which,  after 
Columbus's  death,  his  son  defended  his  titles  against  the  crown, 
the  picturesque  story  of  the  Convent  of  Rabida,  and  the  appear 
ance  at  its  gate  of  a  forlorn  traveller  accompanied  by  a  little  boy, 
and  the  supplication  for  bread  and  water  for  the  child,  has  stood 
in  the  lives  of  Columbus  as  the  opening  scene  of  his  career  in 
Spain."  *  And  again  he  says  :  "  This  story  has  almost  always 
been  placed  in  the  opening  of  the  career  of  Columbus  in  Spain. 
It  has  often  in  sympathizing  hands  pointed  a  moral  in  contrasting 
the  abject  condition  of  those  days  with  the  proud  expectancy 
under  which,  some  years  later,  he  sailed  out  of  the  neighboring 
harbor  of  Palos,  within  eyeshot  of  the  monks  of  Rabida.  Irving, 
however,  analyzed  the  reports  of  the  famous  trial  already  referred 
to,  and  was  quite  sure  that  the  events  of  two  visits  to  Rabida 
had  been  unwittingly  run  into  one  in  testimony  given  after  so 
long  an  interval  of  years.  It  does,  indeed,  seem  that  we  must 
either  apply  this  evidence  of  1513  and  1515  to  a  later  visit,  or 
else  we  must  determine  that  there  was  great  similarity  in  some 
of  the  incidents  of  the  two  visits,  "f  But  subsequently,  narrating 
the  events  of  1491,  the  same  writer  says  :  "  A  consultation  which 
now  took  place  at  the  Convent  of  Rabida  affords  particulars 
which  the  historians  have  found  difficult,  as  already  stated,  in 
keeping  distinct  from  those  of  an  earlier  visit,  if  there  were 
such."  \ 

Mr.  John  Fiske,  however,  with  historical  acumen  and  de 
cisiveness,  but  with  less  pretension  to  expert  criticism,  was  able 
to  arrive  at  a  definite  and  positive  opinion  on  the  subject.  He 
makes  Columbus  go  into  the  service  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 
in  January,  1486,  after  an  interval  of  over  a  year  of  unascertained 
engagements,  possibly  in  Genoa  and  Venice,  and  he  places  the 
only  visit  of  Columbus  to  the  Convent  of  La  Rabida  in  1491, 
when  he  was  about  to  abandon  Spain  in  hopelessness.  In  this 


*  Winsor's  "  Columbus,"  etc.,  p.  154.  f  /</.,  p.  156.  \  Id.,  p.  173. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  8l 

account  he  says  :  "  For  some  reason  or  other — tradition  says  to 
ask  for  some  bread  and  water  for  his  boy — he  stopped  at  the 
Franciscan  Monastery  of  La  Rabida,  about  half  a  league  from 
Palos.  The  prior,  Juan  Perez,  who  had  never  seen  Columbus 
before,  became  greatly  interested  in  him,  and  listened  with 
earnest  attention  to  his  story. ' '  *  And  in  another  place  he  says  : 
41  It  is  pretty  clear  that  Columbus  never  visited  La  Rabida  before 
the  autumn  of  1491." 

Ferdinand  and  Isabella  were  two  of  the  most  remarkable,  suc 
cessful,  and  promising  sovereigns  in  Europe.  As  two  prominent 
figures  in  the  history  of  the  discovery  of  America,  they  seem  to 
stand  in  parallel  yet  contrasting  attitudes  with  Prince  Henry 
the  Navigator  and  Christopher  Columbus  the  discoverer.  Their 
reign  was  in  many  respects  the  most  glorious  and  the  most  re 
markable  in  the  history  of  Spain.  Their  crowns  were  only  united 
by  marriage,  each  retaining  a  separate  and  yet  a  co-ordinate  sov 
ereignty.  They  could  act  for  their  respective  kingdoms  inde 
pendently  of  each  other  ;  each  had  a  separate  exchequer  and  a 
separate  council  ;  and  yet  all  the  acts  of  sovereignty  were  their 
joint  acts  ;  they  both  joined  in  signing  royal  documents  ;  the 
coin  of  the  country  bore  the  images  of  both  ;  and  the  arms  of 
Aragon  and  Castile  were  united  on  the  royal  seal.  Such,  how 
ever,  was  the  independence  of  the  one  from  the  other,  that  it 
was  almost  entirely  the  separate  glory  of  Isabella  that  Columbus 
was  enabled  to  discover  the  new  world.  Ferdinand  was  rather 
an  impediment,  and  even  when  a  new  world  was  placed  at  his 
feet  he  was  not  grateful. 

Ferdinand's  character  was  set  off  by  many  lights  and  shadows, 
and  it  seems  strange  how  so  many  good  and  bad  qualities  could 
be  united  in  the  same  person.  He  was  fortunate  to  a  marvel 
lous  degree,  inheriting  Aragon,  acquiring  Castile  by  marriage, 
seizing  Navarre  on  the  excommunication  of  its  sovereigns,  taking 
Granada  and  Naples  by  conquest,  reducing  by  his  arms  Tunis, 
Tripoli,  Algiers,  and  most  of  the  Barbary  States,  and  making 
them  vassals  of  his  throne.  His  extraordinary  fortunes  were 
crowned  by  having  a  beautiful  and  accomplished  queen  for  his 
wife,  and  in  having  a  new  world  placed  at  his  command  with 
little  effort,  sympathy,  or  expenditure  on  his  part.  He  was  a 


*  Fiske's  "Discovery  of  America."  vol.  i.,  pp.  399,  410. 


82  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

man  of  deep  and  uniform,  though  perhaps  not  always  consistent 
religious  faith  and  zeal  ;  he  prosecuted  witfi  success  the  conquest 
of  the  Moors  in  Spain  and  added  their  country  to  his  crown,  and 
expelled  the  Jews  from  his  dominions.  He  was  rewarded  by 
Pope  Innocent  VIII.  with  the  title  of  Most  Catholic  Majesty. 
But  Ferdinand  was  selfish,  intolerant,  grasping,  wily,  ungrateful, 
and,  when  his  interests  were  involved,  unscrupulous. 

The  character  of  Isabella  was  a  model  of  moral,  intellectual 
religious,  and  queenly  symmetry.  Beautiful  in  person,  graceful 
in  movement,  and  benignant  in  every  expression,  she  possessed 
a  tender  heart,  a  quick  and  expansive  intellect,  a  generous  nature, 
and  a  pure  and  upright  conscience.  She  surpassed  in  judgment 
and  intellect  her  more  astute  consort  ;  she  had  more  genius  than 
he,  and  on  many  occasions  exhibited  greater  firmness  and  in 
trepidity.  He  was  subtle  and  calculating  ;  she  was  gifted  with 
higher  genius  and  with  a  truer  and  more  noble  nature.  Saintly 
in  her  life  and  devotions,  she  was  wholly  free  from  intolerance. 
She  opposed  the  expulsion  of  the  Jews,  tempered  the  treatment 
of  the  subjugated  Moors  with  mercy,  hated  slavery  and  oppres 
sion  of  every  kind,  was  simple  and  frugal  in  her  private  life  while 
regal  in  her  public  administration  ;  she  was  fond  of  liberal  and 
learned  studies,  and  promoted  the  highest  forms  of  education  in 
her  realm.  While  Ferdinand  possessed  the  traits  of  a  successful 
politician,  Isabella  possessed  many  of  the  masculine  and  sterner 
qualities  that  fitted  her  for  a  ruler  and  a  conqueror,  without 
losing  an  iota  of  the  graceful  and  tender  virtues  that  adorn  pre 
eminently  the  character  of  woman.  While  her  reign  would  have 
been  even  more  glorious  without  a  Ferdinand,  his  career  would 
have  been  less  commendable  without  an  Isabella.  It  was  fortu 
nate  for  Columbus,  for  the  cause  of  human  development  and 
civilization,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  teeming  nations  now  inhabit 
ing  the  new  world,  that  by  the  duke's  letter  of  commendation 
the  cause  of  Columbus  was  placed  under  the  generous  and  en 
lightened  patronage  of  the  illustrious  Isabella,  rather  than  sub 
jected  to  the  cold  and  selfish  scrutiny  of  Ferdinand.  As  it  was, 
the  cause  was  lost  so  far  as  his  calculating  and  short-sighted 
policy  could  crush  it,  as  it  was  only  saved  by  the  personal  gener 
osity  of  the  noble  queen. 

On  his  arrival  at  Cordova,  Columbus  found  the  sovereigns,  the 
court,  the  army  and  the  nation  all  absorbed  in  the  war  against 


ON  COLUMBUS.  83 

the  Moors.  It  was  a  turning-point  in  the  war.  The  two  rival 
Moorish  kings  of  Granada,  Muley  Boabdil,  the  uncle,  and 
Mohammed  Boabdil,  the  nephew,  had  become  reconciled,  and 
had  united  their  strength  for  a  last  struggle  against  the  combined 
forces  of  Aragon  and  Castile.  The  court,  resembling  more  a 
military  encampment,  the  nobles  and  grandees  of  Spain,  the 
chivalry  of  Aragon  and  Castile,  and  all  the  military  forces  of  the 
nation  were  assembled,  and  the  busy  and  ceaseless  din  of  war 
resounded  on  all  sides.  The  king  and  queen  prosecuted  the  war 
in  person,  and  moved  from  one  point  to  another  to  meet  the 
exigencies  of  the  campaign.  At  one  moment  siege  had  to  be 
laid  to  the  Moorish  city  of  Loxa  ;  the  siege  of  Moclin  followed  ; 
and  scarcely  had  the  sovereigns  time  to  make  their  thanksgiving 
for  these  victories  at  Cordova,  when  they  had  to  hasten  to 
Galicia  to  quell  the  rebellion  of  the  Count  de  Lemos.  In  the 
mean  time,  Columbus  at  Cordova  was  the  guest  of  Alonzo  de 
Quintanilla,  the  comptroller  of  the  Treasury  of  Castile.  In  the 
winter  of  1484-85,  the  court  having  temporarily  established  itself 
at  Salamanca,  Columbus  followed  thither.  He  had  not  yet  had 
an  audience.  During  his  tedious  sojourn  at  Cordova  he  had 
made  earnest  converts  to  his  cause  of  his  generous  host,  Quin 
tanilla,  and  of  the  Papal  Nuncio,  Antonio  Geraldini,  and  of 
his  brother  Alexander,  the  latter  being  tutor  to  the  royal  chil 
dren. 

At  Salamanca  Columbus,  through  the  influence  of  his  friend, 
Quintanilla,  was  introduced  to  His  Eminence  Cardinal  Pedro 
Gonzales  de  Mendoza,  Archbishop  of  Toledo,  who  occupied  so 
important  and  influential  a  position  at  court  that  Peter  Martyr 
used  to  call  him  "  the  third  King  of  Spain."  This  learned  and 
noble- hearted  ecclesiastic  at  first  hesitated  about  countenancing 
one  whose  theories  as  to  the  form  of  the  earth  seemed  to  him  to 
contradict  the  accounts  of  the  sacred  Scriptures  ;  explanations 
of  the  theory  of  Columbus  followed,  and  the  intelligent  mind  of 
the  cardinal  soon  perceived  and  acknowledged  that  no  truths  of 
science  or  of  actual  discovery  could  militate  against  the  truths 
of  religion,  for  all  truth  is  one  and  harmonious.  He  received 
Columbus,  who,  knowing  the  importance  of  such  an  audience, 
exerted  his  best  abilities  and  most  thorough  efforts  to  convince 
his  illustrious  hearer  of  the  truth  of  his  theories,  and  he  suc 
ceeded.  Admiring  the  learning,  the  simplicity,  and  frankness  of 


84  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

Columbus,  as  well  as  his  great  and  self-conscious  dignity  and 
lofty  bearing,  the  cardinal  secured  for  him  an  audience  at  court. 
Appearing  before  the  astute  and  discriminating  Ferdinand,  for 
it  seems  in  doubt  and  improbable  that  the  queen  was  present, 
Columbus  with  modesty,  self-possession,  eloquence,  and  zeal 
stated  and  explained  his  propositions  to  the  king,  who  was  evi 
dently  impressed  by  his  scientific  and  practical  views,  by  the 
immense  advantages  he  would  gain  over  other  nations  by  such 
an  enterprise  crowned  with  success,  and  especially  over  his  rival, 
Portugal.  Ferdinand,  however,  was  too  cautious  to  commit 
himself  ;  but  the  first  step  was  gained  by  the  king's  ordering 
Fernando  de  Talavera,  Prior  of  the  Monastery  of  Prado,  a  man 
of  great  learning,  but  one  who  had  no  special  knowledge  of  the 
scientific  studies  connected  with  the  enterprise  of  Columbus,  to 
call  together  the  most  accomplished  and  learned  astronomers  and 
cosmographers  of  the  kingdom,  with  the  intention  of  sifting  the 
matter,  and  more  especially  of  interrogating  Columbus  on  the 
foundations  and  reasons  for  his  theories  and  plans.  This  learned 
Junto  was  to  report  to  the  king.  Columbus  repaired  to  Sala 
manca,  by  the  professors  of  whose  famous  university  his  theories, 
proofs,  and  propositions  were  to  be  examined.  At  Salamanca 
he  became  the  guest  of  the  Dominican  Convent  of  St.  Stephen, 
a  part  of  the  university.  The  Junto  was  composed  of  professors 
of  astronomy,  geography,  mathematics,  and  of  other  sciences, 
besides  whom  there  were  present  as  members  of  the  council 
several  high  ecclesiastics  and  erudite  friars.  The  time  when  this 
famous  conference  was  held  was  probably  the  winter  of  1486-87. 
It  is  difficult  for  us,  after  four  hundred  years,  and  under  such 
different  circumstances  of  time,  place,  country,  institutions,  and 
ideas,  to  comprehend  the  almost  appalling  difficulties  under  which 
Columbus  appeared  before  this  august  body  to  plead  the  cause 
of  a  new  world.  Confirmed  prejudices  against  all  that  was  new, 
the  pedantry  of  learning,  the  power  of  place,  the  timidity  of 
conscientious  pastors,  confessors,  and  theologians  lest  some  dan 
ger  of  disturbing  the  faith  of  the  flock  or  of  the  schools  might  oc 
cur,  the  national  distrust  of  foreigners,  the  disposition  of  placemen 
to  regard  a  man  in  his  poor  circumstances  and  with  his  startling 
propositions  as  a  visionary,  an  adventurer,  a  mendicant,  if  not 
even  a  lunatic — all  these  and  many  other  disturbing  and  dis 
heartening  sentiments  and  influences  stood  in  the  way  of  Colum- 


ON  COLUMBUS.  85 

bus.  Under  such  adverse  circumstances  Columbus  appeared 
before  the  learned  Junto  at  Salamanca  with  a  calm  and  confident 
mien  ;  his  manner  and  address  were  courteous  and  reverential, 
his  mind  was  clear  and  full  of  conviction,  the  resources  of  argu 
ment,  science,  learned  tradition,  and  many  years  of  study  were 
ready  at  his  command  ;  his  bearing  was  dignified,  lofty,  and 
conscious  of  truth  and  justice  ;  he  felt  and  expressed  the  inspira 
tion  of  his  vocation.  He  felt  that  he  had  carried  his  appeal  from 
ignorant  and  capricious  public  opinion  to  the  candor  and  dis 
crimination  of  a  learned  and  dignified  body  ;  from  the  rabble, 
that  had  jeered  at  and  had  ridiculed  him,  to  the  erudite  and 
responsible  representatives  of  the  Spanish  crown  and  of  the 
educated  and  devout  world.  Yet  this  learned  assembly  piteously 
fell  below  the  standard  of  their  own  fame  and  pretensions.  With 
the  exception  of  the  good  and  learned  friars  of  St.  Stephen's 
Convent,  the  most  learned  body  in  the  far-famed  University  of 
Salamanca,  who  paid  deep  attention  to  Columbus  from  the 
beginning,  these  dignified  officials  and  shallow  scholars  prejudged 
his  cause  and  his  scientific  problems  and  propositions.  It  seemed 
absurd  that  an  obscure  mariner  should  know  and  be  able  to  do 
more  than  all  the  world  beside  had  known  and  done  for  so  many 
centuries.  Passages  from  the  sacred  Scriptures  and  from  the 
Fathers  of  the  Church  were  quoted  and  wrested  to  the  refutation 
of  purely  scientific  propositions.  Then,  entering  upon  the  dis 
cussion  on  scientific  grounds,  the  ignorance  and  errors  of  ages 
were  adhered  to,  rather  than  the  new  light  of  advancing  knowl 
edge  and  science  ;  the  existence  of  the  antipodes  was  regarded 
as  absurd  ;  the  earth  was  argued  to  be  flat  and  not  round  ;  even 
if  an  opposite  and  habitable  hemisphere  existed,  it  would  be 
impossible  to  reach  it  or  return,  in  consequence  of  the  unendur 
able  heats  of  the  torrid  zone  ;  or  if  this  were  not  so,  the  circum 
ference  of  the  earth  must  be  so  great  as  to  require  three  years 
at  least  to  reach  the  other  hemisphere,  and  all  attempting  it  must 
perish  of  hunger  and  cold  ;  that  only  the  Northern  Hemisphere 
was  habitable,  and  the  heavens  did  not  extend  beyond  it ;  that 
all  else  was  chaos  ;  and  that,  even  if  vessels  should  succeed  in 
sailing  down  the  route  to  India,  it  would  be  impossible  for  them 
to  sail  up  again  to  Europe,  as  the  rotundity  of  the  earth  would 
present  a  mountain-like  barrier,  which  the  most  favorable  winds 
would  never  enable  them  to  surmount. 


86  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

Columbus,  in  face  of  such  unexpected  methods  of  considering 
a  scientific  proposition,  rose  to  the  full  strength  and  dignity  of 
his  mission.  The  contrast  between  traditional  and  learned  igno 
rance,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  advanced  theories  of  modern  and 
awakening  science,  on  the  other,  was  presented.  There  was  an 
immense  gulf  between  them.  Columbus  broke  down  the  bar 
riers,  and  the  human  intellect  expanded  to  receive  the  new  results 
of  actual  demonstration.  The  attitude,  the  bearing,  and  the 
answer  of  Columbus  to  his  opponents  in  the  council  are  described 
by  his  contemporaries  as  having  been  impressive.  With  remark 
able  clearness  he  argued  that  the  passages  from  the  sacred  writ 
ings  did  not  profess  to  use  scientific  or  technical  language,  but 
rather  aimed  at  reaching  the  human  mind  by  the  figurative  lan 
guage  of  the  current  age  and  country ;  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church,  also,  he  demonstrated,  were  writing  devout  commen 
taries,  and  in  illustrating  them  merely  used  such  scientific  views 
and  facts  as  then  prevailed  or  were  possessed  by  the  world. 
But  even  here  he  was  superior  to  his  opponents  in  their  own 
field  of  scriptural  inquiry  and  sacred  lore,  for,  taking  them  on 
their  own  grounds,  he  quoted  those  renowned  and  startling  pas 
sages  of  the  Scriptures,  those  mystic  prophecies  of  the  inspired 
prophets  of  old,  which  he,  in  his  devout  zeal,  construed  as  pro 
phetic  and  typical  of  the  grand  results  he  aimed  at,  and  of  the 
man  himself,  who,  as  he  believed  himself  to  be,  was  destined  to 
accomplish  them.  In  appealing  to  the  writings  of  the  ancient 
philosophers  of  Greece  and  Rome,  the  opponents  of  his  problems 
and  plans  found  in  Columbus  an  over-match,  for  he  was  familiar 
with  them,  and  he  was  able  to  show  a  wonderful  consensus  of 
ancient  authors  in  favor  of  his  views  as  to  the  size,  contour,  and 
shape  of  the  earth  and  the  ocean.  As  to  the  torrid  zone  being 
impassable,  he  assured  them,  from  what  he  saw  in  his  voyage  to 
St.  George  la  Mina,  in  Guinea,  which  was  near  the  equator, 
that  the  torrid  zone  was  inhabitable  and  traversable  ;  that  it  pos 
sessed  a  teeming  population,  and  was  rich  in  the  productions  of 
the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms.  As  to  a  ship's  inability  to 
overcome  the  rotundity  of  the  earth,  his  own  voyage  to  Iceland 
and  back,  and  the  expeditions  of  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese 
navigators  between  the  ports  of  Spain  and  Portugal  and  the 
islands  far  south  on  the  African  coast,  demonstrated  the  absurditv 

m/ 

of  the  objection.      In  this  contest  of  the  intellect  Columbus  stood 


ON   COLUMBUS.  8/ 

iorth  inevitably  victorious  on  all  points  in  reality,  for  scientific 
and  actual  truth  were  on  his  side.  His  answers  made  a  profound 
impression  on  many  of  his  hearers.  Among  those  convinced  of 
the  truth  of  his  propositions  and  converted  to  his  cause  was 
Diego  de  Deza,  a  good  and  learned  friar  of  St.  Stephen,  after 
ward  Archbishop  of  Seville  ;  but  Fernando  de  Talavera,  who 
was  charged  with  conducting  the  investigation,  was  indifferent, 
too  much  absorbed  in  pressing  public  interests,  in  the  war  against 
the  Moors,  or  other  official  cares,  to  give  much  countenance  to 
what  seemed  an  abstract  and  visionary  scheme.  The  learned 
Junto,  with  some  few  illustrious  exceptions,  was  still  uncon 
vinced.  The  majority  was  against  the  plan.  Some  further  con 
ferences  were  held,  but  no  result  was  attained.  Mr.  Winsor, 
with  his  usual  scepticism,  attributes  but  little  importance  to  the 
conference  at  Salamanca,  alleging  that  it  was  held  with  Talavera 
and  a  few  councillors,  and  that  it  was  in  no  way  associated  with 
the  prestige  of  the  University  of  Salamanca.* 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Moorish  war  was  prosecuted  with  great 
activity.  In  the  spring  of  1487  the  court  returned  from  Sala 
manca  to  Cordova  ;  the  campaign  against  Malaga  followed  ;  the 
war  was  conducted  in  a  rugged  and  mountainous  country,  and 
through  various  vicissitudes  the  city  of  Malaga  was  forced  to 
surrender  on  August  i8th,  1487.  Columbus  followed  the  court 
and  army,  and  was  several  times  summoned  before  the  sovereigns 
in  intervals  of  warlike  struggle,  or  during  the  comparative  leisure 
of  a  long  siege,  to  explain  again  and  again  his  plans  ;  but  each 
time  disappointment  and  postponement  awaited  him.  Returning 
to  Cordova  after  the  surrender  of  Malaga,  the  hopes  of  Columbus 
for  a  more  patient  hearing  were  again  blasted,  for  the  court  and 
its  retinues  were  almost  immediately  driven  away  from  the  city 
by  the  outbreak  of  a  pestilence,  and  from  Cordova  to  Saragossa  ; 
then  in  another  campaign  in  Murcia,  then  at  Valladolid,  and  next 
at  Medino  del  Campo.  Nearly  a  year  thus  passed — a  year  of 
cruel  delays  and  disappointments  to  Columbus.  During  its  shift 
ing  scenes,  arduous  marches,  and  many  perils,  Columbus  fol 
lowed  up  his  suit  at  this  ever-migratory  court  with  zeal  and  per 
severance,  and  thus  encountered  the  hardships  of  war  in  the 
pursuit  of  a  scientific  enterprise.  His  patience,  however,  was 


*  Winsor's  "  Columbus,"  pp.  161,  162. 


88  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

severely  tried.  While  expounding  his  proposals  in  Spain,  he 
had  been  cautious  in  not  imparting  enough  of  his  plans  to  enable 
any  treacherous  adversary,  if  there  should  be  one  at  hand,  to 
attempt  to  defraud  him  of  his  glory,  as  was  done  in  Portugal. 

While  Columbus  was  baffled  in  Spain  by  the  delays  and  the 
uncandid  pretensions  of  King  Ferdinand,  Portugal  had  made  a 
noted  and  proud  advance  toward  discovering  the  African  route 
to  Asia.  Ferdinand  did  not  yet  trust  in  the  Atlantic  or  western 
route,  and  yet  he  kept  the  inventor  of  it  fruitlessly  hanging 
around  the  wandering  and  warlike  court.  It  is  a  singular  fact 
that  Bartholomew,  the  brother  of  Columbus,  had  taken  part  in 
the  Portuguese  expedition,  which  resulted  in  the  discovery  of 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  under  Diaz,  and  in  December,  1487, 
he  had  returned  to  Lisbon  with  the  electrifying  news.  It  is 
supposed  by  some  that  Columbus  had  now  become  so  disgusted 
with  Spanish  delays,  that  early  in  1488  he  thought  of  again  open 
ing  negotiations  with  the  King  of  Portugal,  John  II.,  and  went  to- 
Lisbon  for  that  purpose  ;  he  had  asked  for  and  obtained  a  safe  con 
duct  from  that  sovereign,  and  left  Spain.  Other  accounts  repre 
sent  him  as  going  to  Lisbon  toward  the  last  of  the  summer,  for 
the  purpose  of  meeting  Bartholomew  and  of  sending  him  to  Eng 
land  to  open  negotiations  with  Henry  VII.  He  went  to  Lisbon, 
however,  at  this  time  under  King  John's  safe  conduct,  which 
was  dated  March  2Oth,  1488.  Probably  the  Portuguese  king,  in 
giving  him  so  full  a  protection,  which  it  is  supposed  was  also- 
intended  as  an  assurance  against  the  interference  of  creditors 
with  Columbus,  who  had  been  so  absorbed  in  his  great  project  as 
to  neglect  his  private  affairs,  had  in  view  the  renewal  of  negotia 
tions  for  an  arrangement  with  Columbus  for  his  proposed  west 
ward  voyage  of  discovery.  But  this  was  not  practicable  ;  or  at 
least  Columbus  did  not  entertain  such  proposals  for  his  once  re 
jected  and  attempted-to-be-stolen  plans,  or  did  not  tarry  for  them, 
for  he  was  back  again  in  Spain  in  May,  1489. 

Bartholomew  Columbus,  the  ever-faithful  brother  and  sup 
porter  of  the  admiral,  a  man  of  no  mean  ability,  whether  with 
the  pen  or  the  sword,  for  he  was  at  once  a  good  map-drawer, 
sailor,  and  soldier,  was  sent  out  to  open  negotiations  with  Eng 
land  and  France.  Directing  his  course  first  to  Bristol,  where  he 
had  many  acquaintances  of  his  seafaring  life,  and  captured  on 
the  way  by  pirates,  he  finally  arrived  at  London  undaunted  and 


ON   COLUMBUS.  89 

well  equipped  for  his  brother's  cause.  At  the  court  of  Henry 
VII.  he  made  a  deep  impression  by  his  arguments  and  facts  upon 
the  mind  of  the  king,  especially  with  the  assistance  of  a  map  of 
his  own  skilful  workmanship.  While  the  English  monarch  fully 
appreciated  the  scheme,  he  did  not  feel  inclined  hastily  to  embark 
in  so  remote  an  enterprise,  and  Bartholomew  went  to  France. 
At  the  court  of  Charles  VIII.  he  had  an  influential  friend  in 
Madame  de  Bourbon,  a  sister  of  the  king  ;  but  now  again  his 
cause  was  slow  of  success,  and  he  resorted  to  his  occupation  of 
Lisbon  in  making  geographical  maps,  chiefly  for  the  members  of 
the  court.  In  the  mean  time,  Henry  VII.,  probably  stimulated 
by  the  advancing  prospects  of  Columbus  in  Spain,  came  to  a 
favorable  conclusion  in  the  spring  of  1492.  The  next  meeting 
between  the  two  brothers,  Christopher  and  Bartholomew,  as  to 
the  circumstances  of  time,  place,  and  results,  as  I  shall  mention 
hereafter,  was  interesting  and  historically  dramatic.* 

Mr.  Irving,  in  relating  this  portion  of  Columbus's  life,  states 
that,  wearied  and  discouraged  by  delays  in  Spain,  he  was 
thinking  of  looking  elsewhere  for  the  aid  he  had  sought  in  vain 
from  Ferdinand,  and  that  he  applied  to  John  II.  of  Portugal, 
and  received  in  reply  encouragement  and  the  safe  conduct.  He 
also  states  that  Columbus  received  a  letter  from  Henry  VII.  of 
England,  inviting  him  to  that  country,  and  holding  out  promises 
of  encouragement.f  Though  he  does  not  give  the  source  of  this 
information,  this  correspondence  may  have  quickened  his  efforts 
and  those  of  Bartholomew  in  the  direction  of  England  and  France. 
It  also  stimulated  the  wary  and  selfish  Ferdinand,  who  summoned 
him  again  to  court  and  provided  him  with  means  for  his  journey 
through  Gonzalez,  the  royal  treasurer.  But  he  again  resorted 
to  his  former  system  of  delays,  and  it  was  not  until  Bartholo 
mew's  departure  for  England  and  Columbus's  return  from  Por 
tugal,  in  the  spring  of  1489,  that  he  summoned  Columbus  to 
appear  before  another  learned  council  at  Seville,  and  again  made 
royal  provision  for  his  travel  ;  his  expenses  on  the  way  and  his 
entertainment  at  Seville  were  provided  for  him  out  of  the  public 
treasury.  He  repaired  to  the  beautiful  city  flushed  with  hope  ; 
but,  alas  !  another  disappointment  followed,  another  campaign 


*  "The  Discovery  of  America,"  by  John  Fiske,  vol.  i.,  pp.  401-408. 
f  Washington  Irving's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  95,  96. 


yO  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

commenced.  The  court  and  army  departed  to  invade  Granada, 
besiege  the  city  of  Baza,  and  crush  the  Moors  in  their  strong 
hold.  Columbus,  however,  was  not  inactive.  He  served  in  this 
eventful  campaign  as  a  soldier  "  with  distinguished  valor,"  and 
on  December  22d,  1489,  he  was  present  on  that  august  occasion 
when  Boabdil  the  Elder  surrendered  his  own  crown  and  his 
remaining  possessions  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.*  It  was  also 
during  this  campaign  that  the  devout  mind  of  Columbus  con 
ceived  the  thought  and  made  the  resolution — a  vow  registered  in 
his  own  soul  and  openly  declared — of  devoting  the  profits  of  his 
projected  discoveries,  in  case  of  success,  to  the  expenses  of  an 
other  crusade  for  the  rescue  of  the  Holy  Land  and  the  sacred 
places  from  the  hands  of  the  infidels.  This  occurred  during  the 
siege  of  Baza,  in  Granada,  and  during  the  campaign  of  1489,  in 
which  Columbus  fought  in  the  army  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella 
with  such  intrepid  personal  valor  as  to  have  won  the  meed  of  a 
distinguished  mention  in  the  history  of  the  war.  Two  venerable 
monks  from  the  convent  at  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem 
arrived,  bringing  a  message  from  the  Grand  Soldan  of  Egypt 
that  he  had  resolved  to  massacre  the  Christians  of  Palestine, 
destroy  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  and  devastate  their  convents  and 
churches  unless  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  discontinued  the  war 
against  the  Moors.  The  holy  friars  received  immediate  audience 
with  the  Catholic  sovereigns  ;  the  court  and  the  army  and  all 
Spain  were  deeply  excited  at  the  threat  ;  the  war  was  prosecuted 
with  renewed  vigor,  until  the  last  inch  of  Moorish  territory  in 
Spain  was  surrendered.  Isabella  granted  a  perpetual  annuity  of 
one  thousand  ducats,  equal  to  $4269  of  our  currency,  for  the 
support  of  the  convent  at  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  and  sent  an  em 
broidered  veil,  the  work  of  her  own  hands,  to  be  suspended 
before  the  sacred  shrine.  The  big  heart  and  munificent  soul  of 
Columbus  then  consecrated  to  a  new  crusade  he  would  inaugu 
rate  for  the  rescue  of  the  holy  places  Ihe  profits  of  the  princedom 
he  felt  sure  of  winning,  and  which  he  afterward  won,  but  which 
the  ingratitude  of  princes  rendered  barren  in  his  hands  and  those 
of  his  family. 

But  the  suit  of  Columbus  was  again  postponed  in  the  interests 


*  Irving's  "  Life  of   Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  97  ;     Diego  Ortiz  de  Zuniga,  "  Ann.  de 
Sevilla,"  lib.  xii.,  anno  1489,  p.  404. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  9! 

of  the  Moorish  war.  The  victorious  sovereigns,  returning  from 
the  surrender  of  Baza,  entered  Seville  in  triumph  and  with  ex 
traordinary  pomp  and  grandeur  in  February,  1490.  The  national 
rejoicings  ensued,  and  then  came  the  preparations  for  the  nuptials, 
and  their  celebration  in  April,  of  the  Princess  Isabella  with 
Prince  Don  Alonzo,  heir-apparent  of  Portugal.  The  stirring 
and  exciting  events  of  battles,  triumphs,  and  wedding  rejoicings 
stood  in  the  way  of  Columbus  now,  and  while  the  discoverer 
stood  ready  to  reveal  the  reality  of  his  long-dreamed  plans,  and 
followed  the  court  as  a  member  of  the  royal  suite,  his  heart  felt 
at  every  moment  the  pangs  of  bitter  disappointment.  What 
next  ?  Then  came  the  campaign  for  the  conquest  of  the  Vega 
of  Granada,  and  it  was  announced  that  neither  sovereign  nor 
soldier  would  rest  from  battle  until  Granada  was  theirs.  Colum 
bus  saw  his  life  waning  with  the  passing  years  of  toil,  delay,  broken 
promises,  disappointment,  and  neglect.  He  resolved  to  brook 
no  further  postponement  of  his  cause  ;  he  insisted  upon  a  decision 
of  his  suit.  Bishop  Fernando  de  Talavera  was  directed  by  the 
sovereigns  to  hold  a  decisive  consultation  of  the  sages  of  Sala 
manca,  and  after  some  further  delay  the  answer  was  given  that 
this  learned  Junto  regarded  the  project  as  "  vain,  impracticable, 
and  resting  on  grounds  too  weak  to  merit  the  support  of  the 
government."*  Columbus  was  informed  through  the  bishop 
that,  in  consequence  of  the  engrossing  prosecution  of  the  war  and 
its  great  expense,  the  sovereigns  could  not  then  entertain  his 
propositions,  but  that  when  the  war  was  successfully  ended  they 
would  feel  disposed,  with  more  time  at  their  disposal,  to  negotiate 
with  him.  In  the  mean  time,  at  court,  in  the  army,  and  in  the 
cities  where  he  tarried,  he  was  mocked  and  jeered  at  by  the 
ignorant  and  the  giddy,  and  when  he  passed  through  the  streets 
the  children  meeting  him  sneeringly  pointed  to  their  foreheads 
to  indicate  that  he  was  regarded  as  a  man  of  unsound  mind. 
During  portions  of  this  time  he  provided  for  his  support  by 
making  maps.  Six  years  were  thus  lost  in  fruitless  petitions  to 
the  Spanish  court.  While  he  had  assurances  from  individual 
members  of  the  Junto  of  Salamanca — Diego  de  Deza,  tutor  of 
Prince  Juan,  and  others — of  their  confidence  and  support,  he  not- 


*  Fernando  Colon,  "  Historia  del  Almirante,"  cap.  2  ;    Prescott's  "  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,"  vol.  Hi.,  p.  121  ;    Irving's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  100. 


92  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

withstanding  regarded  the  answer  of  the  sovereigns  as  final,  and 
he  indignantly  left  Seville  and  turned  his  face  toward  France, 
from  which  country  he  had  received  a  letter  from  King  Charles 
VIII.  inviting  him  to  come  to  France  and  lay  his  project  before 
that  monarch. 

We  next  find  the  illustrious  discoverer  standing  at  the  gates 
of  the  Franciscan  Convent  of  La  Rabida.  According  to  Mr. 
Irving,  this  was  Columbus's  first  and  only  visit  to  La  Rabida  ; 
according  to  Tarducci,  it  was  his  second  visit,  before  the  signing 
of  the  capitulations.  Traveling  on  foot,  holding  his  young  son 
Diego  by  the  hand,  he  asked  the  porter  at  the  lodge  for  a  little 
bread  and  water  for  the  exhausted  child.  With  the  great  man 
the  heart  alone  was  weary.  He  had  traveled  thus  from  Seville  ; 
the  stranger  was  poorly  but  genteelly  dressed,  but  there  was 
something  noble  and  exalted  in  his  aspect  and  demeanor.  Ac 
cording  to  the  account  of  Tarducci,  his  son  Diego  was  left  at 
Columbus's  first  visit  as  a  guest  of  the  convent,  and  his  inten 
tion  now  was  to  take  him  to  Cordova  and  leave  him  there 
with  his  second  son,  Fernando,  in  the  care  of  Beatrix  Enriquez. 
He  regarded  it  as  a  providence  that  directed  his  steps  to  the  en 
lightened  prior  of  the  convent,  Juan  Perez  de  Marchena,  for 
the  good  monk  immediately  entered  into  conversation  with  the 
strangers,  and  although  Columbus  was  on  his  way  to  the  neigh 
boring  town  of  Huelva,  to  visit  his  sister-in-law,  and,  according 
to  other  accounts,  leave  with  her  his  young  son  Diego  during 
his  proposed  visit  to  France,  the  good  prior  succeeded  in  induc 
ing  him  to  tarry  at  the  convent  and  become  its  guest.  The 
intelligent  prior  and  friars  of  La  Rabida  had  never  received  at 
their  hospitable  board  so  remarkable  and  extraordinary  a  guest. 
They  became  intensely  interested  in  his  theories  and  projects, 
for  Columbus  spoke  of  nothing  else,  and  as  their  proximity  to  the 
seaport  of  Palos  had  given  the  monks  some  familiarity  with 
maritime  subjects,  they  stood  astonished  at  the  magnificence  and 
grandeur  of  the  proposals  of  the  Genoese  stranger.  They  be 
came  still  more  surprised  if  not  convinced  by  the  arguments  and 
facts,  scientific  data  and  traditional  learning  by  which  he  sus 
tained  his  propositions.  They  were  edified  by  the  deep  religious 
convictions  and  boundless  zeal  for  the  faith  manifested  by  their 
guest.  The  physician  of  the  convent,  Garcia  Fernandez,  one  of 
the  most  scientific  men  of  the  neighboring  maritime  town  of 


ON   COLUMBUS.  93 

Palos,  was  sent  for,  and  a  number  of  conferences  were  held  at 
the  convent,  and  these  were  also  attended  by  several  "  ancient 
mariners"  of  Palos,  among  whom  was  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon — 
the  Pinzons  being  a  prominent,  wealthy,  and  nautical  family  of 
standing  and  experience.  The  plans  and  arguments  of  Columbus 
had  more  effect  among  the  well-informed  and  practical  mariners 
and  scientific  men  of  Palos  than  among  the  sages  of  Salamanca's 
famed  university.  Pinzon  was  so  especially  impressed  with  the 
plan  that  he  tendered  his  means  and  his  personal  services  in  such 
an  expedition  as  Columbus  proposed,  and  offered  to  bear  the 
cost  of  another  effort  to  engage  the  co-operation  of  the  court  of 
Spain.  There  was  no  dissenting  voice  in  the  councils  of  La 
Rabida. 

The  good  prior,  Juan  Perez,  who  had  formerly  been  confessor 
to  Queen  Isabella,  resolved  to  make  a  direct  appeal  to  her,  for 
she  had  from  the  beginning  been  favorable  to  the  plans  of  Colum 
bus,  and  he  immediately  sent  to  her  Majesty  a  letter  by  a  trusty 
and  shrewd  messenger,  Sebastian  Rodriguez,  a  pilot  of  Lepe,  a 
man  of  intelligence  and  of  importance  in  the  neighborhood.  In 
fourteen  days  Rodriguez  returned  with  the  queen's  answer,  in 
which  she  expressed  her  thanks  for  the  prior's  opportune  exer 
tions,  and  requested  him  to  give  hope  to  Columbus,  and  that  the 
prior  would  immediately  visit  her  at  court.  Juan  Perez  without 
delay  saddled  his  mule,  started  before  midnight,  and,  having 
traversed  the  conquered  territories  of  the  Moors  and  arrived  at 
the  new  city  of  Santa  Fe,  where  the  king  and  queen  were  press 
ing  the  siege  of  Granada,  he  found  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  a 
prompt  audience.  He  now  pleaded  the  cause  of  Columbus  with 
zeal,  eloquence,  and  learning,  and  he  gave  his  personal  assur 
ances  of  the  integrity,  skill,  and  knowledge  of  Columbus,  and  of 
his  capacity  to  fulfil  his  every  engagement  ;  he  also  gave  an 
intelligent  exposition  of  the  grounds  upon  which  the  propositions 
were  based,  and  depicted  in  glowing  words  the  advantages  and 
glory  which  Spain  would  gain  by  such  an  enterprise,  of  the  suc 
cess  of  which  he  felt  confident.  The  Marchioness  de  Moya,  a 
favorite  of  the  queen,  united  her  gentle  and  persuasive  eloquence 
to  the  strong  appeal  of  the  prior,  and  the  result  was  that  Isabella 
requested  Columbus  again  to  repair  to  her  presence,  and  for 
warded  to  him  a  sum  of  money,  equal  to  $216  of  our  currency,  to 
bear  the  expenses  of  the  journey  and  enable  him  to  make  a  suit- 


94  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

able  appearance  at  court.  Columbus  replaced  his  worn  garments 
with  a  court  suit,  and,  having  purchased  a  mule,  journeyed  at 
once  to  the  royal  camp  before  the  besieged  city  of  Granada. 

Amid  the  triumphs  and  rejoicings  of  the  Spanish  arms  before 
the  ill-fated  city  of  Granada,  the  last  stronghold  of  the  Moors, 
Columbus  arrived  at  court.  In  his  former  applications  he  was 
put  off  by  the  press  of  warlike  preparations  and  active  operations 
in  field  or  siege  ;  now  at  least  the  war  was  over.  He  had  wit 
nessed  the  surrender  by  Boabdil,  the  last  of  the  Moorish  kings, 
of  the  keys  of  the  Alhambra  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  and  the 
crusade  of  eight  centuries  xvas  triumphantly  brought  to  an  end. 
In  the  midst  of  national  rejoicings,  wherein  the  court,  the  army  and 
the  people  abandoned  themselves  to  unbounded  jubilation  ;  amid 
the  songs  of  minstrels,  the  shouts  of  victory,  the  hymns  of  thanks 
giving,  military  and  religious  pageants,  the  frequent  appearance 
of  king  and  queen  in  public  surrounded  by  more  than  imperial 
magnificence,  the  throngs  of  grandees,  warriors,  and  ecclesias 
tics  of  dignity  and  station,  the  glitter  of  arms,  and  the  sounds  of 
music  and  clangor  of  arms — all  tended  to  thrust  aside  the  long- 
seeking  and  long-waiting  discoverer  of  worlds.  Columbus 
counted  among  his  friends  and  the  advocates  of  his  cause  the 
good  prior  of  La  Rabida,  Juan  Perez,  Alonzo  de  Quintanilla,  the 
accountant-general,  the  Marchioness  de  Moya,  and  Luis  de 
Santangel,  the  receiver  of  ecclesiastical  revenues.  Now  again 
he  had  to  wait  until  a  moment  of  comparative  quiet  enabled  him 
to  gain  an  audience.  Clemencin,  a  contemporary  writer,  and 
one  who  saw  him  now  at  court,  no  doubt  reflected  the  general 
sentiment  of  the  community  when  he  described  Columbus  as  an 
obscure  and  unknown  man  following  the  court,  one  of  numerous 
importunate  applicants  brooding  in  antechambers  over  the  vain 
glorious  project  of  discovering  a  world,  melancholy  and  indiffer 
ent  in  the  midst  of  the  national  and  universal  rejoicings,  con 
temptuous  of  all  glory  except  his  own  anticipated  triumphs, 
dejected  yet  puffed  up.  To  the  few  friends  I  have  named  he 
appeared  as  the  seer,  the  scientist,  the  deliverer  of  nations,  the 
benefactor  of  Spain  and  of  the  world,  the  hero  of  hemispheres. 
The  sovereigns  now  appointed  several  persons  of  rank  and  influ 
ence  to  negotiate  with  Columbus,  and  among  them  was  Fernanda 
de  Talavera,  then  promoted  as  Archbishop  of  Granada.  Colum 
bus  entered  upon  the  negotiations  of  the  terms  with  the  air  of 


ON  COLUMBUS.  95 

one  confident  of  success  ;  but  when  these  dignitaries  of  Church 
and  State,  noblemen  and  officials,  heard  the  obscure  stranger 
demand  as  the  price  of  his  success  terms  that  were  princely— a 
viceroyalty  of  all  the  lands  he  discovered  and  a  tenth  of  the 
gains,  whether  from  trade  or  conquest — they  were  filled  with 
indignation  mingled  with  contempt.  Columbus  was  unmoved, 
and  when  sneered  at  for  his  spirit  of  self-aggrandizement,  he 
boldly  offered,  relying  on  Pinzon's  proposition,  to  defray  one 
eighth  of  the  expense  on  his  being  guaranteed  one  eighth  of  the 
profits.  Notwithstanding  this  confident  and  liberal  offer,  the 
terms  insisted  on  by  Columbus  were  regarded  as  extravagant,, 
presumptuous,  and  vainglorious.  The  report  of  Fernando  de 
Talavera  to  the  queen  represented  the  terms  as  exorbitant,  and 
that  it  would  be  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  crown  to  bestow  such 
dignities,  powers,  and  emoluments  upon  any  one,  but  especially 
upon  a  stranger  without  means,  titles,  or  prestige,  one  who,  it 
was  well  known,  was  regarded  as  a  dreamer  and  an  adventurer. 
Isabella  had  commenced  to  feel  great  inclination  to  favor  the 
proposals  of  Columbus,  but  this  report  of  so  important  a  person 
age  as  the  Archbishop  of  Granada,  her  confessor  and  spiritual 
adviser,  the  one  who  had  been  from  the  beginning  entrusted 
with  the  conduct  of  the  affair,  caused  her  to  hesitate.  Lesser 
terms  were  proposed  to  Columbus,  but  he  remained  immovable, 
even  with  the  prospect  of  utter  failure  or  of  undergoing  at  other 
courts  the  delays,  neglects,  ridicule,  and  disappointments  he  had 
already  experienced  for  eighteen  years,  the  best  portion  of  his 
life  and  manhood.  His  lofty  and  confident  spirit  should  now 
have  inspired  more  respect  if  not  admiration,  but  he  was  per 
mitted  to  depart  from  Santa  F6,  and  he  now  turned  his  face 
toward  France.  Well  might  Mr.  Irving  exclaim,  while  allading 
to  the  long  years  of  solicitation  and  denial  he  had  spent  at  Euro 
pean  courts,  "  What  poverty,  neglect,  ridicule,  contumely,  and 
disappointment  had  he  not  suffered  !"  It  was  in  February,  1492, 
that  this  illustrious  man,  after  having  taken  leave  of  his  few 
friends  at  court,  mounted  his  mule  and  wended  his  weary  way 
toward  Cordova.  The  noble  Luis  de  Santangel  and  other 
friends  of  Columbus,  actuated  by  the  loftiest  and  most  patriotic 
sentiments,  resolved  to  make  a  final  effort  to  prevent  France 
from  wresting  from  Spain  the  glory  of  the  impending  discovery. 
He  and  Alonzo  de  Quintanilla  hastened  to  the  queen  and  obtained 


g6  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

an  immediate  audience.  They  appealed  to  her  by  every  con- 
sideration  of  patriotism,  glory,  interest,  and  justice  not  to  let 
Columbus  carry  to  France  the  honor  of  discovering  new  worlds, 
which  had  been  so  unwisely  rejected  by  Spain,  and  in  their 
ardor  for  the  cause  they  mingled  the  highest  eulogies  on  Colum 
bus,  with  almost  reproaches  on  their  own  sovereigns.  The  ex 
pedition  would  only  require  two  vessels  and  about  three  thou 
sand  crowns,  and  the  great  discoverer  had  generously  proposed 
to  bear  one  eighth  of  the  cost.  The  Marchioness  de  Moya  was 
present  at  this  momentous  interview,  and  warmly  and  eloquently 
supported  the  fervid  appeals  of  Santangel  and  of  Quintanilla. 
The  mind  of  Isabella  had  been  so  engrossed  with  the  Moorish 
war  and  other  cares  of  State,  that  the  proposals  of  Columbus 
seemed  now  for  the  first  time  to  dawn  upon  her  generous  spirit 
in  all  their  grandeur  and  glory,  and  with  characteristic  spirit 
and  judgment  she  resolved  to  embark  in  so  exalted  a  work.  The 
king  was  still  indifferent  and  sat  coldly  by,  his  thoughts  grovel 
ling  over  his  depleted  treasury.  Was  Isabella  now  to  displease 
her  royal  consort  and  subject  the  public  treasury  to  a  further  drain, 
when  he  was  opposed  to  it  ?  Her  mind  hesitated  between  the 
two  views — a  cold  and  calculating  State  policy,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  noblest  of  human  undertakings,  on  the  other.  All  pres 
ent  felt  the  crisis  of  the  moment,  but  Isabella  rose  now  to  the 
full  elevation  of  her  exalted  character,  and  with  an  inspired  ardor 
she  exclaimed  :  "  I  undertake  the  enterprise  for  my  own  crown 
of  Castile,  and  will  pledge  my  jewels  to  raise  the  necessary 
funds  !"  The  boundless  joy  of  Santangel,  Quintanilla,  and  the 
Marchioness  de  Moya  broke  forth  in  expressions  of  gratitude 
and  honor  for  the  queen,  whose  illustrious  career  she  had  now 
crowned  with  the  noblest  act  of  her  life.  She  seemed  like  the 
angel  of  intercession,  whose  wings  extended  over  two  hemi 
spheres,  to  unite  them  in  a  common  humanity  and  in  one  common 
faith. 

Columbus  must  be  sent  for  at  once  and  brought  back  to  Santa 
F6  ;  but  in  his  generous  zeal  Santangel  assured  her  Majesty  that 
there  was  no  need  of  pledging  her  jewels,  as  he  would  advance 
the  requisite  money.  It  was  arranged,  therefore,  that  San 
Angel,  the  receiver  of  ecclesiastical  revenues,  should  advance 
the  necessary  funds,  which  were  taken,  in  fact,  from  the  treas 
ury  of  Aragon,  to  the  amount  of  seventeen  thousand  florins. 


ON   COLUMBUS. 


97 


This  sum  the  king  took  care  afterward  to  have  reimbursed 
to  him  from  a  part  of  the  first  gold  brought  by  Columbus  from 
the  islands  he  discovered  in  the  West  Indies,  by  having  it  ap 
plied  to  gilding  the  vaults  and  ceilings  of  his  own  royal  saloon 
in  the  grand  palace  of  Saragossa,  in  Aragon.  In  the  mean  time, 
Columbus  was  pursuing  his  lonely  and  dejected  journey  from  the 
court  ;  had  crossed  the  Vega  of  Granada  and  reached  the  bridge 
of  Pinos.  He  had  traveled  about  two  leagues  from  Granada  ; 
the  lofty  mountains  of  Elvira  were  before  him,  and  every  spot 
was  rendered  historical  by  Spanish  triumphs  over  the  Moors  ; 
but  they  were  associated  in  his  mind  with  the  causes  of  the  de 
lays  and  disappointments  he  had  sustained  for  so  many  years. 
Here  he  was  overtaken  by  a  royal  messenger  at  full  speed,  who 
requested  his  return  to  the  court  at  Santa  F6,  and  assured  him 
of  the  pledge  the  queen  had  made,  and  of  her  ardor  in  the  cause 
he  had  so  long  pleaded  in  vain.  Columbus  hesitated  ;  he  was 
reassured  by  the  messenger  ;  and  then,  feeling  unbounded  con 
fidence  in  the  word  of  the  noble  Isabella,  his  heart  filled  with  an 
unaccustomed  joy.  He  hastened  back  to  Santa  Fe.  When  two 
such  minds  and  souls  as  those  of  Columbus  and  Isabella  came  to 
understand  each  other  and  to  act  in  accord,  the  civilized  world 
had  at  once  advanced  more  than  it  had  done  before  for  centuries. 
Man  was  now  to  become  the  master  and  ruler  of  the  whole 
earth  ;  the  shackles  of  ignorance,  prejudice,  and  cowardice  were 
to  fall  from  the  human  race  ;  it  was  the  proudest  moment  in  the 
life  of  Isabella,  the  most  hopeful  in  that  of  Columbus,  the  most 
auspicious  in  the  progress  of  the  world  ! 

Isabella  received  Columbus  most  graciously  on  his  return  to 
Santa  Fe.  Ferdinand  was  unable  to  resist  longer  the  generous 
resolve  of  the  queen,  and  he  concurred  in  what  he  had  failed  to 
prevent  ;  but  Isabella  was  the  inspiring  mover  and  supporter  of 
this  magnificent  enterprise.  The  views  of  Columbus  as  to  terms 
were  already  understood  ;  his  terms  were  accepted  and  reduced 
to  writing  by  the  secretary  of  the  queen,  Juan  de  Coloma,  and 
were  substantially  as  follows.  Talavera  had  said  that  "  a  beggar 
made  conditions  like  a  king  to  monarchs. "  Now  the  parties 
stood  on  more  equal  terms.  All  was  now  understood  and  stipu 
lated  between  the  contracting  parties.  First  :  Columbus  was  to 
be  the  admiral  of  the  seas  and  countries  he  should  discover  dur 
ing  his  own  life,  and  the  office  should  be  hereditary  in  his  family, 


98  OLD   AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

with  dignities  and  honors  equal  to  those  enjoyed  in  his  district 
by  the  high  admiral  of  Castile.  Second  :  He  was  to  be  viceroy 
and  governor-general  over  the  countries  and  islands,  and  invested 
with  power  of  nominating  three  persons  for  the  governorship  of 
each  island  or  province,  from  whose  number  the  sovereigns  were 
to  select  the  incumbent.  Third  :  He  was  to  receive  a  share  of 
all  the  pearls,  precious  stones,  gold,  silver,  spices,  and  of  all 
other  articles  and  merchandise  that  might  be  found,  gained, 
brought,  or  exported  from  the  discovered  countries.  Fourth  : 
He  in  his  quality  as  admiral,  or  his  representative,  was  to  be 
the  sole  judge  in  all  mercantile  matters,  causes,  and  disputes 
arising  between  those  countries  and  Spain,  provided  the  high 
admiral  of  Spain  possessed  the  like  power  in  his  district.  Fifth  : 
He  should  have  the  privilege  of  contributing  one  eighth  of 
the  cost  of  fitting  out  all  ships  to  be  engaged  in  the  undertaking, 
and  receiving  one  eighth  of  the  profits  in  return.  These  terms 
were  embodied  in  a  written  contract  or  capitulation  signed  by 
both  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  written  out  by  Almazon,  and  coun 
tersigned  by  Coloma,  the  secretary,  on  April  i/th,  1492,  and  they 
were  also  set  forth  in  a  letter  of  privilege  signed  by  the  sover 
eigns,  April  3Oth.  In  the  latter  document,  not  only  were  the 
titles  and  offices  aforesaid  made  hereditary  in  his  family,  but  also 
Columbus  and  his  heirs  were  privileged  to  affix  the  title  of  Don 
to  their  names,  which  was  in  those  days  a  rare  distinction. 

It  has  already  been  observed  that  the  Italian  name  of  Colum 
bus  was  rendered  Colombo,  while  the  French,  if  it  be  true  that 
he  had  French  relatives,  was  Colomb,  or  Coloup.  In  Spain  his 
name  underwent  decided  changes.  The  Duke  of  Medina  Celi 
called  him  Colomo,  which  was  changed  into  Colom,  which  Tar- 
ducci  supposes  was  changed  into  Colon  for  the  sake  of  euphony  ; 
but  the  admiral's  son  Fernando  argued  that  as  the  Roman  name 
was  Colonus,  that  could  easily  be  transformed  into  Colon.  The 
signature  to  the  contract  with  the  Spanish  sovereigns  was  quite 
Spanish,  Cristoval  Colon.  Fernando  says  the  admiral's  object 
in  changing  his  name  in  Spain  was  to  distinguish  his  own  im 
mediate  family  and  descendants  from  the  collateral  stock  of  the 
Italian  Colombos.  Oviedo  calls  him  Colom. 

While  Mr.  Winsor  thinks  that  Columbus  failed  in  Portugal 
and  again  in  Spain  by  his  arrogant  spirit  and  demands,  and  thus 
also  disgusted  Talavera  by  demanding  in  his  poverty  and  ob- 


ON  COLUMBUS.  99 

scurity  what  could  only  be  conceded  to  proved  success,  the 
answer  is  very  complete  with  less  unfriendly  critics  of  the  dis 
coverer,  that  he  finally  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  concession  of 
those  very  terms  which  at  first  seemed  so  arrogant ;  and  when 
made  in  the  manner  so  distasteful  to  Mr.  Winsor,  they  were 
always  accompanied  by  solid  and  true  arguments,  based  on  his 
scientific  data,  and  were  never  urged  except  in  terms  and  manner 
of  Columbus's  acknowledged  and  uniform  courtesy,  forbearance, 
and  precatory  demeanor.  His  success  justifies  his  conduct  in 
this  respect.  Far  more  admirable  than  such  criticism  is  the  view 
which  Columbus  took,  that  he  was  the  instrument  of  Providence 
for  the  achievement  of  a  great  mission.  Such  a  spirit  of  criti 
cism  is  never  found  united  with  that  magnanimity  of  spirit  which, 
in  Columbus,  before  he  unfurled  a  sail  at  Palos,  had  dedicated 
the  expenditure  of  fortunes  in  the  restoration  of  a  Saviour's  tomb 
to  Christendom. 


CHAPTER  V. 

"  Love  is  life's  end  ;  an  end,  but  never  ending  ; 
All  joys,  all  sweets,  all  happiness,  awarding." 

—SPENSER'S  "  BRITAIN'S  IDA." 

"  Nothing  shall  assuage 
Your  love  but  marriage  ;  for  such  is 
The  tying  of  two  in  wedlock." 

— LILLY'S  "SAPPHO  AND  PHAON." 

"  For  know,  lago, 

But  that  I  love  the  gentle  Desdemona, 
I  would  not  my  unhoused  free  condition 
Put  into  circumscription  and  confine 
For  the  sea's  worth." 

•SHAKESPEARE'S  "  OTHELLO." 

WE  have  accompanied  Columbus  in  his  journeys  in  pursuit  of 
the  Spanish  court,  and  of  audiences  with  King  Ferdinand  ;  in  his 
services  as  a  soldier  and  his  return,  in  the  spring  of  1487,  with 
the  court  to  Cordova.  During  his  several  sojourns  at  this  beau 
tiful  and  ancient  city  he  had  mingled  in  its  social  life.  He 
had  made  influential  friends  in  Spain,  and  among  them  were  the 
powerful  Dukes  Medina  Celi  and  Medina  Sidonia  ;  Diego  de 
Deza,  the  noble  Dominican  friar  ;  Alonzo  de  Quintanilla,  who 
was  comptroller  of  the  treasury  of  Castile  ;  Antonio  Geraldini, 
the  papal  nuncio,  and  his  brother,  Alexander  Geraldini,  who  was 
tutor  to  the  royal  infants  ;  and,  above  all,  Pedro  Gonzales  de 
Mendoza,  Archbishop  of  Toledo  and  Grand  Cardinal  of  Spain. 
He  had  been  the  guest  of  several  of  these  illustrious  Spaniards. 
It  was,  no  doubt,  through  such  powerful  social  influences,  as 
well  as  by  his  own  engaging  manners,  eloquence  of  speech, 
courtly  appearance  and  address,  his  religious  devotion  and  con 
stancy  in  attendance  at  the  solemn  services  of  the  Church  in  the 
venerable  Cathedral  of  Cordova,  his  learning  on  rare  and  attrac 
tive  subjects,  the  very  mystery  and  attraction  that  attaches 
always,  with  the  refined  and  cultivated  of  every  land  and  age, 
to  aspiring  thoughts  and  noble  purposes,  that  gained  for  him  the 


ON   COLUMBUS.  IOI 

entree  into  the  best  society  of  Cordova,  so  noted  for  its  nobility 
and  aristocracy.  Many  of  his  friends  were  noted  ecclesiastics, 
who,  besides  at  that  time  holding  the  most  important  and  influ 
ential  offices  in  the  State,  were  mostly  themselves  members  of 
the  noblest  families  of  Spain.  It  is  no  small  tribute  to  the  worth, 
purity,  reputation,  and  ability  of  Columbus  that  he,  a  foreigner 
and  a  stranger,  coming  into  Spain  unintroduced  and  without  a 
friend  or  acquaintance  to  start  with,  without  means,  but  actually 
destitute  and  threadbare,  either  accepting  the  hospitality  of  some 
of  his  friends  or  making  a  scanty  and  precarious  living  by  draw 
ing  maps,  should  have  won  the  friendship  of  such  powerful 
friends  and  should  have  won  recognition  both  in  aristocratic 
circles  and  at  court  ;  but  such  was  undeniably  the  fact.  His 
acquaintance  with  and  reception  by  the  noble  and  ancient  family 
of  the  De  Aranas,  of  Cordova,  is  proof  of  this. 

The  Spanish  court  had  come  to  Cordova  in  the  spring  of 
1487,  and  after  the  most  stirring  and  determined  preparations, 
had  departed  thence  for  a  fearful  campaign  and  siege  of  the 
impregnable  Moorish  stronghold  at  Malaga  ;  but  Spanish  prow 
ess  had  already  carried  many  a  Moorish  city  of  equal  strength, 
and  the  doomed  city  of  Malaga  surrendered  to  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella  on  August  i8th,  1487.  The  court  then  returned  in 
triumph  to  Cordova.  Columbus  followed  the  court  back  to  that 
famous  city.  This  brings  us  to  the  consideration  of  the  question 
of  his  marriage  to  Beatrix  Enriquez,  which  has  become  the  sub 
ject  of  so  much  criticism  and  difference  of  opinion.  I  have  inves 
tigated  this  controverted  point  with  impartiality  and  research. 
My  judgment  at  first  was  balanced  ;  but  persevering  stud)'  has 
solved  the  question  for  me,  and  now,  having  a  conviction,  I  shall 
advocate  that  conviction  with  my  best  efforts. 

It  was  during  his  second  or  third  sojourn  at  Cordova,  in  the 
autumn  of  1487,  that  the  second  marriage  of  Columbus  took 
place,  his  second  wife  being  Donna  Beatrix  Enriquez,  a  lady  of 
surpassing  beauty,  most  amiable  disposition,  and  a  member  of 
one  of  the  oldest  and  most  influential  of  the  noblest  and  most  aris 
tocratic  families  of  Spain.  Few  Spanish  families  had  a  higher 
prestige  than  that  of  the  de  Aranas,  to  which  Beatrix  Enriquez 
belonged,  though  their  wealth  at  this  time  did  not  correspond 
with  their  distinguished  lineage  and  station.  The  marriage  of 
Columbus  to  Beatrix  Enriquez  took  place  at  Cordova  toward  the 


102  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

end  of  November,  1487,  and  Fernando  Columbus,  the  only  child 
of  this  union,  was  born  on  August  29th,  or,  as  others  state, 
August  1 5th,  1488.  According  to  the  customs  of  the  country, 
as  the  Count  de  Lorgues  informs  us,  and  as  she  had  brothers 
who  alone  could  inherit  the  family  estates  and  titles,  her  mar 
riage  portion  must  have  been  limited  to  the  usual  legitime ;  but 
he  thinks  it  was  such  as  to  insure  her  an  independent  living. 

Little  is  known  of  this  lady  or  of  the  influence  she  exerted 
on  the  admiral's  fortunes,  or  of  the  part  she  took  in  his  future 
struggles,  successes,  triumphs,  and  misfortunes.  Her  life  was 
spent  modestly  at  Cordova,  and  she  is  not  known  ever  to  have 
left  that  city.  During  his  lifetime  no  man  ever  had  more  enemies, 
or  such  bitter  and  untiring  maligners  of  his  conduct  and  motives, 
or  such  industrious  inquisitors  into  every  act  or  step  of  his 
eventful  career.  The  enemies  who  had  carefully  and  maliciously 
brought  forward  every  accusation  against  him  which  hatred  and 
revenge  could  suggest,  never  once  attacked  the  purity  and 
integrity  of  his  moral  character  ;  never  was  the  legality  of  his 
connection  with  Beatrix  Enriquez  questioned  ;  never  was  his 
marriage  to  her  doubted  ;  never  was  the  legitimacy  of  his  second 
son,  Fernando,  challenged.  On  the  contrary,  during  his  resi 
dence  in  Cordova  the  associations  of  Columbus  were  of  the  most 
unexceptionable — nay,  more,  of  the  most  distinguished  character. 
He  was  a  guest  in  the  house  of  one  of  the  queen's  most  trusted 
and  honored  officers,  Alonzo  de  Quintanilla,  the  royal  treasurer, 
and  he  was  an  associate  of  such  distinguished  prelates  as  Antonio 
Geraldini,  the  papal  nuncio,  and  of  his  brother  Alexander,  whom 
the  queen  had  selected  as  the  tutor  of  her  children.  Columbus 
recognized  on  all  occasions  Fernando,  the  son  of  this  marriage, 
as  equal  in  all  respects  to  his  first  son,  Diego,  and  in  his  will, 
which  is  based  upon  the  express  principle  that  legitimacy  of  birth 
should  be  a  prerequisite  for  inheriting  his  entailed  estate,  the 
Mayorazgo,  the  only  preference  given  to  his  son  Diego  over  his 
son  Fernando  is  that  in  which  the  customs  and  laws  of  the  State 
were  followed,  the  right  of  primogeniture.  This  universal  recog 
nition  of  the  validity  of  his  second  marriage,  and  of  the  legitimacy 
of  Fernando,  was  followed  by  historians  and  by  an  uninterrupted 
concurrence  and  acquiescence  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  years 
after  the  death  of  the  admiral. 

It  was  not  until  1672  that  the  question  was  raised  for  the  first 


ON  COLUMBUS.  103 

time,  and  this  was  a  trivial  and  unauthorized  one,  as  to  the 
second  marriage  of  Columbus  or  the  legitimacy  of  his  second 
son,  Fernando.  This  question  arose  apparently  in  the  most 
casual  manner,  and  without  thought  or  investigation  on  the  part 
of  the  doubter.  Nicolao  Antonio,  whose  functions  were  rather 
those  of  a  librarian  than  of  an  historian  or  critic,  came  across  a 
copy  of  the  admiral's  will,  in  which  a  pension  was  provided  for 
Beatrix  Enriquez,  "  mother  of  his  second  son,  Fernando."  This 
clause  of  the  will  reads  as  follows  :  "  And  I  desire  him  (Don 
Diego)  to  devise  unto  Beatrix  Enriquez,  mother  of  Don  Fer 
nando,  my  son,  a  sum  which  shall  enable  her  to  live  in  a  suitable 
manner,  as  being  one  to  whom  I  am  much  indebted.  And  let 
this  be  done  for  the  relief  of  my  conscience,  for  it  weighs  heavily 
on  my  soul.  The  reason  of  this  it  is  not  right  to  insert  here." 
While  Nicolao  Antonio  held  the  rather  high-sounding  title  of 
Procurator-General  of  Spanish  Affairs  at  the  court  of  Rome,  he 
is  not  known  to  history  as  either  a  jurist  or  lawyer  or  historian, 
and  in  his  capacity  of  librarian  he  was  more  accustomed  to 
handling  the  manufactured  book  than  passing  on  its  merits  ; 
more  versed  in  arranging,  cataloguing,  and  billeting  volumes 
than  digesting  or  weighing  their  contents.  The  rashness  and 
precipitancy  of  his  action  in  this  case  have  shown  him  to  be 
a  man  of  little  prudence,  discretion,  or  discrimination.  Noticing 
in  the  above  passage,  in  the  admiral's  will,  the  absence  of  the 
word  wife  in  the  allusion  to  Beatrix  Enriquez,  and  the  reference 
to  some  undisclosed  circumstance  in  his  past  course  of  action 
toward  her,  the  librarian  rashly,  yet  perhaps  artlessly  and  almost 
unconsciously,  wrote  down  in  the  copy  of  the  will  Don  Fer 
nando  Columbus  was  an  illegitimate  son  of  the  admiral. 

This  obscure  note,  made  without  comment,  reason,  or  proof 
of  any  kind,  and  without  any  inquiry  or  research  after  the  truth, 
made  no  impression  upon  the  general  belief  that  Columbus  and 
Beatrix  were  lawfully  married,  nor  upon  the  minds  of  historians 
and  biographers,  nor  upon  the  fame  and  reputation  of  Columbus 
and  his  wife.  It  was  too  obscure  and  unauthentic  an  act  to 
attract  any  notice.  Its  insignificance  consigned  it  to  oblivion. 
Revived  now  by  modern  authors,  I  have  carefully  and  impartially 
examined  the  accusation,  and  have  been  forced  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  is  not  sustained. 

One  hundred  and  twenty  years  after  the  penning  of  this  rash 


104  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

thought  of  the  librarian  Nicolao  Antonio — that  is,  about  the  year 
1794 — in  order  to  promote  his  success  in  conducting  a  lawsuit 
in  behalf  of  one  Diego  Colon  y  Larriategui,  in  which  he  was  inter 
ested,  the  licentiate  Luiz  de  la  Palma  y  Freytas,  true  to  the  most 
inferior  instincts  and  training  of  his  profession  as  a  lawyer,  and 
knowing  nothing  of  the  merits  of  the  question  as  one  affecting  an 
illustrious  name,  and  not  caring,  availed  himself  of  the  assertion 
made  by  Antonio  ;  but  his  plea,  based  upon  the  illegitimacy  of 
Fernando  Columbus,  was  thrown  out  of  court.  Numerous  law 
suits  arose  from  time  to  time  over  the  succession  to  the  estates 
and  titles  of  Columbus,  and  remote  kindred  in  Italy  attempted 
to  win  the  prize,  even  at  the  expense  of  historic  truth.  The 
parentage  of  Columbus,  the  place  of  his  birth,  and  every  circum 
stance  bearing  upon  the  question  of  the  succession,  became  the 
subject  of  bitter  contention  and  of  contradictory  testimony. 
What  these  cavilling  and  hair-splitting  attorneys,  who  could  not 
rise  to  the  height  of  an  honorable  profession,  were  unable  ta 
accomplish  was  next  attempted  by  a  learned  critic  from  motives- 
of  vanity  and  ambition.  In  1805  Galeani  Napione,  a  vain  and 
frivolous  writer,  of  some  repute  for  learning,  but  unsuccessful  as 
a  historian,  sought,  in  the  mass  of  the  documents  brought  into 
existence  by  the  voluminous  and  conflicting  lawsuits  which  had 
been  prosecuted  in  Spain  over  the  succession  to  the  titles  and 
estates  of  Columbus,  for  an  opportunity  of  enhancing  his  reputa 
tion  as  a  commentator  and  critic.  His  eager  eye  fell  upon  the 
point  forensically  made  by  the  lawyer,  Palma  y  Freytas,  in  be 
half  of  his  client,  and  with  equal  astuteness  he  amplified  the 
point  by  a  series  of  keen  and  critical  arguments,  and  thus  gained 
some  credit  to  himself  as  an  original  and  discriminating-  critic. 
But  what  can  be  thought  of  the  assumption  of  a  writer  who, 
contrary  to  all  testimonies  bearing  upon  the  parentage  and 
birth  of  Columbus,  had  insisted  that  the  admiral  was  born  at  the 
Chateau  of  Cuccaro,  in  Montferrat  ?  Thus,  too,  in  1809,  Frangois 
Cancellieri,  a  French  antiquarian  and  bibliographer,  gave  some 
circulation  to  Napione's  arguments,  by  accepting  the  fact  of  Fer 
nando  Columbus's  illegitimate  birth,  and  reasserted  it  ;  but 
although  Cancellieri  had  won  some  repute  for  skill  in  collecting 
and  classifying  facts,  he  is  known  not  to  have  made  any  examina 
tion  into  the  charge,  thus  confirming  the  general  opinion  of  his  con 
temporaries  that  he  was  a  man  destitute  of  philosophic  r.cumcn. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  10$ 

It  is  singular  how  much  bitter  feeling  has  been  generated  by 
the  disputes  over  questions  relating  to  Columbus.  None  of 
these  controversies  have  equalled  in  bitterness  the  disputes  over 
the  questions  of  his  birthplace  and  of  his  second  marriage.  An 
old  Barnabite  father,  Spotorno,  a  Genoese,  who  felt  a  special 
pride  in  having  Genoa  recognized  as  the  birthplace  of  Columbus, 
took  offence,  however,  at  the  supposed  effort  of  Fernando  Colum 
bus,  in  his  history  of  the  admiral,  to  cast  doubt  on  the  subject  of 
his  father's  birthplace.  He  was  unsparing  in  his  denunciation 
of  Fernando  for  daring  to  cast  a  doubt  on  the  claim  of  Genoa. 
The  imputation  of  Napione  was  eagerly  seized  upon  by  the 
enthusiastic  Genoese  for  accusing  Fernando  of  being  a  bastard. 
His  resentment  was  aided  by  his  vanity  as  a  claimant  to  repute 
as  a  scholar,  and  it  was  his  vanity  which  led  him  to  ignore 
Napione,  and  trace  his  authority  for  the  assertion  back  to  Can- 
cellieri,  the  French  critic.  Such  was  the  heat  of  his  passion 
and  resentment  for  Fernando  Columbus,  that  it  led  him  to  asperse 
the  reputation  of  Columbus  himself,  whom  he  was  proud  to  claim 
as  a  native  countryman  of  his  own.  '  His  dislike  of  the  son," 
writes  Father  Knight,  "  seems  to  have  outweighed  his  respect 
for  the  father."*  For  his  zeal  in  behalf  of  his  own  Genoa  as  the 
birthplace  of  Columbus  that  city  rewarded  him  with  honors. 
He  was  appointed  by  the  city  to  write  a  preface  to  a  collection 
of  documents  relative  to  Columbus.f  This  afforded  him  an 
opportunity  of  repeating  in  his  preface,  in  1823,  the  calumny 
against  Fernando  Columbus,  and  through  him  against  his  father, 
of  the  same  unauthorized  and  unauthenticated  libel  which  had,  in 
1819,  been  uttered  in  his  book,  "  Of  the  Origin  and  of  the  Country 
of  Columbus,"  and  subsequently  repeated  in  his  "  Literary  His 
tory  of  Liguria."  The  Count  de  Lorgues  accuses  the  learned 
Barnabite  of  plagiarism,  in  claiming  as  his  own  an  accusation 
which  he  had  found  in  the  pages  of  Napione  and  Cancellieri. 

One  of  the  bitterest  posthumous  enemies  of  Columbus  was 
Martin  Fernandez  de  Navarrete.  His  hatred  for  Columbus 
arose  out  of  his  being  the  hired  and  paid  advocate  of  the  Spanish 
dynasty  in  defending  King  Ferdinand  against  the  universally 
accepted  charge  of  ingratitude  to  Columbus.  Navarrete,  fired 


"  The  Life  of  Christopher  Columbus,"  by  Rev.  Arthur  George  Knight,  S.  J. 
f  "  Codice  Columbo  Americano." 


106  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

by  the  resentment  of  a  Spaniard  and  stimulated  by  official  patron 
age,  undertook  to  defend  Ferdinand  from  the  charge  of  ingrati 
tude  toward  Columbus,  which  had  then  been  recently  but  briefly 
repeated  by  Bossi  and  his  French  translator.  Nearly  about  the 
same  time  that  Spotorno  was  accusing  Columbus  in  Genoa,  in 
the  pay  of  the  Genoese  Government,  1823,  Navarrete  was  en 
gaged  in  the  lucrative  service  of  the  Spanish  Government  in  a 
similar  unworthy  crusade  against  the  good  name  of  Columbus. 
If  Columbus  was  blameless,  then  King  Ferdinand  was  guilty  of 
ingratitude  ;  if  Ferdinand  was  capable  of  defence,  it  could  only 
be  by  casting  odium  on  Columbus.  Navarrete  accepted  his  un 
worthy  task.  The  public  purse  was  at  his  back.  .  He  was  con 
tinuing  that  great  work,  the  "  Collection  of  the  Maritime  Voy 
ages  of  the  Spaniards,"  which  the  learned  Bautista  Mufioz  had 
commenced  in  the  time  and  by  order  of  Charles  V.  He  was  also 
employed  by  the  Spanish  crown  to  edit  and  compile  the  "  Col- 
eccion  Diplomatica. "  Rewarded,  or  rather  subsidized  by  the 
government,  and  loaded  with  many  offices,  honors,  and  emolu 
ments,  he  became  an  enthusiastic  eulogist  of  his  royal  client  in 
the  person  of  King  Ferdinand.  Yet  in  his  unworthy  task,  "  he 
undertook,"  as  the  Count  de  Lorgues  so  earnestly  says,  "  the  task 
of  exculpating  the  most  ungrateful  by  calumniating  the  most 
generous  of  men.  Vengeance  armed  his  pen.  Yet  in  the  whole 
course  of  his  researches  Navarrete  could  find  nothing  that  could 
cast  the  least  suspicion  on  the  relations  of  Columbus  with  Beatrix 
Enriquez.  All  his  annotations  showed  Fernando  as  the  legiti 
mate  son  of  the  admiral  of  the  ocean."  It  was  under  such  cir 
cumstances  as  these  that  Navarrete  revamped  the  often-made 
and  as  often-refuted  charges  of  the  contemporaneous  enemies  of 
Columbus,  commencing  with  the  accusation  that  he  had  left 
Portugal  secretly  in  order  to  defraud  his  creditors,  down  to  the 
charges  of  cruelty,  avarice,  and  disloyalty.  Navarrete  thus 
ranges  himself  on  the  side  of  such  desperate  and  unscrupulous 
men  as  Roldan  and  his  fellow-rebels,  and  of  the  host  of  wild, 
vicious,  desperate,  criminal,  and  outlawed  men  who  in  his  life 
time  united  with  Ferdinand  in  sending  this  most  loyal  and  useful 
man  to  a  death-bed  of  poverty,  disease,  misery,  and  injustice. 
With  a  mockery  of  historical  style  and  dignity  he  undertakes  to 
praise  King  Ferdinand  for  his  clemency,  graciousness,  and  kind 
ness  to  Columbus.  It  is  not  surprising,  then,  that  Navarrete 


ON   COLUMBUS.  IO/ 

should  have  appropriated  the  calumny  of  Spotorno  with  avidity, 
in  order  to  increase  the  already  swollen  sum  of  his  unjust  charges 
against  Columbus.  '  The  calumny  of  Spotorno,"  writes  the 
Count  de  Lorgues,  "  came  to  give  him  a  new  arm."  The  fact 
that  Navarrete's  work  is,  with  all  its  learning  and  research,  an 
unmanly  and  ungenerous  indictment  of  the  moral  character  of 
Columbus,  a  repetition  of  refuted  charges  made  by  his  avowed 
enemies,  overflowing  with  undisguised  prejudice,  and  inspired 
by  lucrative  governmental  patronage,  deprives  it  of  all  authen 
ticity  when  treating  on  the  life,  character,  and  merits  of  Colum 
bus. 

It  was  unfortunate  for  the  cause  of  truth  and  justice  that  our 
distinguished  and  learned  countryman,  Washington  Irving,  who, 
on  being  informed  while  at  Bordeaux  that  Navarrete's  work  was 
in  press,  went  to  Madrid  with  the  intention  of  translating  it  into 
English,  and  while  at  Madrid  saw  its  issue  from  the  press,  should 
have  mainly  followed  that  author  in  preparing  his  own  beautiful 
life  of  Columbus,  in  so  far  as  to  express  the  opinion  that  the  rela 
tions  of  Columbus  with  Donna  Beatrix  Enriquez  were  not  sanc 
tioned  by  marriage.  Differing  on  many  important  subjects  from 
Spotorno  and  Navarrete,  it  seems  to  be  a  subject  of  regret  that 
Mr.  Irving,  while  rejecting  parts  of  their  accusations,  mitigating 
others,  and  accepting  still  others  with  evident  repugnance,  should 
not  have  given  himself  ample  time  to  investigate  the  charge  of 
illicit  relation  with  this  lady,  the  mother  of  his  second  son,  who 
in  her  own  native  city  and  for  nearly  two  centuries  stood  with 
out  reproach,  and  would  stand  so  to-day^  but  for  the  overwrought 
criticism  of  a  passage  in  the  will  of  Columbus,  thus  casting  a 
blemish  upon  the  good  names  of  two  such  persons  at  once,  and 
a  blot  upon  the  birth  of  a  third.  Spottfrno,  emboldened  by  the 
admission  of  Mr.  Irving,  subsequently  repeats  the  charge,  while 
reproaching  him  with  timidity  in  not  admitting  more  ;  and  Hum- 
boldt,  whose  researches  were  in  quite  a  different  field  from  that 
to  which  the  investigation  of  such  a  charge  belongs,  and  without 
investigation  of  his  own,  follows  Mr.  Irving  in  accepting  the 
accusation  of  illicit  relations  between  Columbus  and  Beatrix. 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  this  investigation  rests 
solely  upon  the  original  rash  and  inconsiderate  note  made  by  the 
librarian,  Nicolao  Antonio,  on  a  copy  of  the  will  of  Columbus. 
None  of  the  writers  who  have  followed  this  view  have  added 


108  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

any  testimony  or  evidence  in  support  of  it.  In  fact,  the  note  of 
Antonio  is  solely  his  own  conclusion  or  argument  deduced  from 
the  obscure  but  not  mysterious  language  of  the  will.  The  clause 
in  question  is  in  truth  the  only  data  upon  which  we  have  to  consider 
the  charge.  The  list  of  authors  who  have  inconsiderately  ac 
cepted  the  charge  as  true,  or  rather  as  probable,  constitute  by 
derivation  but  one  accuser,  the  librarian  Antonio.  The  Count 
de  Lorgues  pithily  presents  the  list,  showing  no  increase  or 
accumulation  of  authority  or  strength  in  the  following  climax, 
disclosing  the  genesis,  so  to  speak,  of  this  charge  against  a  dis 
tinguished  name.  That  author  says  :  "  Here  is  the  bibliographic 
filiation  of  this  calumny  :  Humboldt  derived  it  from  Washington 
Irving  ;  Washington  Irving  derived  it  from  Navarrete  ;  Navar- 
rete  derived  it  from  Spotorno  ;  Spotorno  derived  it  from  Can- 
cellieri  ;  Cancellieri  derived  it  from  Napione  ;  Napione  derived 
it  from  the  Attorney  Freytas  ;  Freytas  derived  it  from  the  bibli 
ographer  Nicolao  ;  Nicolao  derived  it  from  his  own  dull  brain."* 

As  the  accusation  originated  with  the  librarian  Nicolao,  and 
he  rests  it  solely  upon  the  circumstance  and  language  of  the  will 
of  Columbus,  the  question  must  be  regarded  as  one  depending 
solely  upon  these  data  and  upon  the  construction  to  be  given  to 
the  words.  Upon  these  data  we  must  determine  whether  his 
opinion,  accepted  by  these  authors,  is  warranted.  The  assertion 
of  the  librarian,  made  one  hundred  and  sixty  years  after  the 
admiral's  death,  gives  no  authority  to  the  charge,  which  he  was 
the  first  to  make  ;  neither  does  the  concurrence  of  the  same 
writers,  following  his  lead  and  having  no  additional  data  or  evi 
dence,  give  any  authority  to  the  charge  as  an  historical  question. 

Does  the  language  of  that  quoted  clause  in  the  will  establish 
or  justify  the  fabrication  of  such  a  charge,  or  prove  the  fact 
charged  ?  Does  a  mere  obscurity  of  language,  intimating  at 
most  that  Columbus  felt  that  he  had  fallen  short  of  his  obligations 
to  Beatrix,  and  should  in  some  measure  make  a  tardy  reparation, 
justify  a  charge  or  prove  a  fact  so  utterly  at  variance  with  all 
the  evidences  tending  to  prove  the  contrary  to  be  the  case  ? 
Would  not  the  fact  that  Columbus,  though  lawfully  married  to 
Beatrix,  had,  under  the  pressure  of  his  engrossing  cares,  labors, 


*  De  Lorgues,  "  Ambassadeur  de  Dieu,"  p.  382  ;  "  Christophe  Colomb,"  vol.  i.,  p. 
44  ;  "  The  Life  of  Columbus,"  by  Father  Arthur  George  Knight,  p.  45. 


ON   COLUMBUS. 

and  misfortunes,  neglected  to  provide  adequately  for  her  since 
their  marriage,  or  had  not  made  her  the  partner  of  his  successes 
and  triumphs,  have  naturally  called  forth  the  same  language  and 
expressions  in  his  will  ?  Would  not  any  other  grievance,  which 
he  might  have  felt  he  had  inflicted  on  her,  have  naturally  called 
forth  the  same  expressions  ?  Is  this  interpretation,  so  hastily  and 
rashly  put  upon  the  will  of  Columbus  by  the  librarian,  the  only 
one  of  which  the  will  is  susceptible  ?  Is  it  consistent  with  the 
canons  of  interpretation  or  with  the  fair  use  of  reason,  one  hun 
dred  and  sixty  years  after  the  date  of  it  and  after  the  events,  to 
place  upon  these  obscure  words  in  a  will  a  construction  which 
is  wholly  contradicted  by  the  entire  life,  character,  professions, 
conduct,  and  principles  of  the  person  using  the  language,  and  of 
the  person  of  whom  it  is  written  ?  As  the  admiral  expressly 
states  that  he  withholds  the  reason  for  his  inserting  this  clause 
in  his  will,  was  it  reasonable,  just,  or  fair  in  Antonio  to  attempt 
to  supply  what  he  purposely  withheld,  and  that  upon  mere  con 
jecture,  and  at. a  distance  of  over  a  century  and  a  half  from  his 
death  ?  Was  it  not  the  positively  expressed  effort  of  Columbus, 
in  so  wording  his  will,  to  withhold  his  reasons  ?  Then  how 
could  a  man  of  such  varied  and  educational  experience  in  life,  of 
such  acknowledged  intellect,  of  such  lively  sentiments  and  sensi 
bilities,  of  such  acute  observation,  of  such  eloquence  and  accuracy 
of  language  and  expression  from  his  youth,  have  so  glaringly 
defeated  his  own  purpose  ?  Would  it  not  have  obviously  been 
more  natural  and  sensible  for  Columbus  to  have  declared  the 
reasons  ?  If  a  blundering  and  dull  librarian  saw  the  meaning  ot 
the  language  so  plainly  and  so  readily,  could  not  the  superior 
intellect  of  Columbus  have  perceived  the  same,  at  least  after  it 
was  written  ?  Is  it  not  more  probable  to  find  in  the  separation 
of  Columbus  from  his  wife,  during  his  roving,  adventurous  and 
checkered  career  since  their  marriage,  the  reason  for  his  lan 
guage,  rather  than  in  the  theory  that  two  persons,  known  as  they 
were  to  be  devoted  to  each  other  and  the  parents  of  an  honorable 
and  noble  son,  were  not  married  ?  If,  in  his  ambitious  projects 
and  struggles  for  glory,  he  had,  left  the  woman  he  loved,  his 
wife,  and  the  mother  of  his  son  in  solitude,  neglect,  and  ob 
scurity,  what  more  natural  or  appropriate  language  could  he 
have  used  to  give  expression  to  his  sorrow,  and  then  to  do  her  a 
tardy  justice  ?  Is  it  probable,  if  the  charge  were  true,  that  so 


110  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

sensitive  a  nature  would  have  thus  divulged  it,  even  when  de 
signing  to  withhold  it  ?  Is  it  possible  that  so  capable  a  pen  as 
that  of  Columbus  would  have  so  blundered  as  to  express  what  it 
was  designed  to  suppress  ?  In  order  to  fasten  so  grave  a  charge 
upon  Columbus,  is  it  not  necessary  that  the  language  he  used 
should  be  utterly  inconsistent  with  any  other  theory  than  the 
one  contended  for?  Is  it  not  a  principle  of  justice,  common 
sense,  and  of  law,  in  a  doubtful  case,  based  on  circumstantial 
evidence,  that  in  order  to  justify  conviction  of  an  offence,  the 
facts  proved,  or  the  data  relied  upon,  should  be  inconsistent 
with  any  other  theory  than  that  of  guilt  ?  Surely  the  man,  who 
suffered  so  much  from  the  calumny  of  his  enemies  during  his 
lifetime,  should  be  reasonably  spared  from  the  breath  of  volun 
tary  censure  after  the  lapse  of  centuries.  Would  the  man  so 
slandered  and  libelled  by  his  enemies  during  his  life  have  become 
his  own  accuser,  and  that,  too,  of  a  crime  of  which  his  worst 
enemies  had  never  dared  to  accuse  him  ? 

Mr.  Irving's  opinion  on  this  subject,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
other  writers  with  whom  he  agrees  in  part,  seems  to  have  been 
influenced  by  the  impressions  that  this  clause  was  the  fruit  of 
remorse  experienced  by  him  at  the  approach  of  death,  and  he 
was  laboring  under  the  belief  that  the  will  itself,  or  rather  the 
codicil  in  question,  was  drawn  up  during  the  admiral's  last  ill 
ness.  Such,  however,  is  not  the  case.  The  codicil  containing 
this  language,  on  the  contrary,  was  drawn  up  and  signed  by 
him  four  years  previously,  when  his  health  was  comparatively 
good,  and  the  career  of  glory  was  yet  before  him.  In 
deed,  these  authors  plainly  assert  the  compunction  of  Columbus 
to  have  arisen  at  his  last  end,  and  that  his  provision  for  Beatrix 
was  then  made  ;  but  such  is  not  the  case.  The  codicil  in  ques 
tion  was  made  and  dated  on  April  ist,  1498,  prior  to  his  depart 
ure  on  his  third  voyage.  On  August  25th,  1505,  he  re 
produced  it  in  his  own  hand,  thus  reaffirming  it,  and  on  May 
1 9th,  1506,  he  deposited  his  whole  testamentary  depositions  in 
the  hands  of  the  notary  of  the  court,  Pedro  de  Hinojedo,  and 
then,  too,  he  named  his  executors,  his  son  Diego,  his  brother 
Bartholomew,  and  Juan  de  Porras,  the  Treasurer- General  of 
Biscay. 

While  this  accusation  against  Columbus  must  fall  to  the  ground 
for  want  of  proper  foundation,  either  in  fact,  in  reason,  or  in  law. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  Ill 

to  sustain  it,  I  will  state  seriatim  some  positive  grounds  for  its 
utter  refutation. 

First  :  Columbus  was  a  man  of  deep  and  sincere  religious  con 
victions,  and  by  his  faith  an  illicit  love  was  anathematized,  and 
would,  in  his  own  opinion  and  faith,  consign  his  soul  to  eternal 
punishment  if  he  should  die  in  such  a  sin.  In  this  belief  and 
conviction  he  frequently  resorted  to  the  confessional. 

Second  :  The  practice  and  observance  of  his  whole  life  were 
marked  by  purity,  continence,  and  chastity.  He  was  pre-emi 
nently  pure  in  his  life,  as  was  demonstrated  in  Hispaniola,  in 
contrast  with  his  Spanish  followers. 

Third  :  He  was  not  an  inexperienced  man,  nor  one  unaccus 
tomed  to  encounter  temptations,  and  thus  liable  to  succumb  to 
them  when  suddenly  assailed.  He  had  been  a  follower  of  the 
sea  from  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  was  at  the  time  he  met  Beatrix 
approaching  fifty  years  of  age,  thirty-six  of  which  he  had  spent 
either  at  sea,  in  many  strange  lands,  or  otherwise  exposed  to 
temptations  of  every  kind.  She  was  less  than  half  his  own  age. 
It  was  the  habit  of  his  life  to  resist  and  conquer  such  tempta 
tions.  In  the  Indies,  where  Spaniards  of  high  and  low  degree 
had  given  themselves  up  to  the  most  unbridled  licentiousness 
and  indulgence  with  the  Indian  women  of  the  country,  the  life 
of  Columbus  was  chaste,  continent,  and  pure.  Of  this  sin  he 
was  never  accused.  He  is  known  to  have  resisted  every  tempta 
tion  to  commit  it  while  in  the  Indies,  when  to  commit  it  was 
leniently  condoned  toward  men  separated  from  home,  and  freed 
from  the  restraints  of  religion  and  social  ties.  In  an  atmosphere 
of  impurity  he  was  pure. 

Fourth  :  The  family  of  Arana,  to  which  Beatrix  belonged,  was 
a  proud  and  noble  family,  as  well  as  a  pious  and  religious  one. 
The  rigid  social  safeguards,  then  as  now,  observed  in  Spanish 
families,  would  prove  a  sure  preservative  against  the  fall  of  a 
member  of  such  a  family  into  such  a  fault.  As  with  Columbus, 
so  with  Beatrix  :  her  religion  would  prove  a  powerful  preserva 
tive  against  such  a  fall.  Her  pride  of  family  would  have  alone 
preserved  her.  As  she  had  brothers,  proud,  influential,  aristo 
cratic  and  chivalrous,  the  sentiments  and  practices  of  the  age 
would  have  compelled  them  to  avenge  their  sister's  dishonor  in 
the  blood  of  her  betrayer.  Had  there  existed  at  any  time  an 
illicit  love  between  Columbus  and  Beatrix,  the  proud  members 


112  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

of  the  Arana  family  would  never  have  associated  with  Colum 
bus  ;  whereas,  on  the  contrary,  there  were  always  some  members 
of  this  distinguished  family  accompanying  Columbus  in  his  ex 
peditions.  A  brother  of  Beatrix,  Rodrigo  de  Arana,  a  distin 
guished  nobleman  of  Cordova,  one  whom  Oviedo,  the  royal  his 
toriographer,  calls  "  the  virtuous  gentleman,"  would  surely  not 
have  permitted  his  and  Beatrix's  younger  brother,  Pedro  de 
Arana,  to  accompany  Columbus  on  his  third  voyage,  nor  would 
he  have  permitted  his  and  her  nephew,  Diego  de  Arana,  whom 
Ramusio  calls  "  a  good  gentleman  of  Cordova,"  to  have  accom 
panied  him  on  his  first  voyage,  had  this  fact  thus  charged  been 
true.  Nor  would  Columbus,  after  he  had  become  the  discoverer 
of  the  new  world,  the  grand  admiral  of  the  ocean  seas  and  vice 
roy,  have  dared  to  appoint  the  former,  a  brother  of  his  mistress, 
to  the  command  of  one  of  his  vessels  on  the  third  voyage,  thus 
placing  under  the  command  of  a  member  of  a  disgraced  family 
members  of  proud  and  noble  families,  and  gentlemen  of  Spain. 
Nor  would  the  admiral  have  placed  in  command  of  Fort  Navidad, 
as  we  shall  see  hereafter  he  did,  the  nephew  of  his  mistress, 
thereby  placing  under  his  orders  two  honorable  officers  of  the 
crown.  Spotorno  destroys  his  own  credit  as  a  critic  by  denying 
even  the  noble  birth  and  blood  of  Beatrix  ;  but  in  this  he  is  con 
tradicted  by  such  a  writer  as  Navarrete  himself,  who  could  not 
refrain  from  declaring  her  noble,  and  her  family  to  be  the  prin 
cipal  house  of  Cordova.  Even  after  the  death  of  Columbus  and 
of  his  son  and  successor,  we  have  evidence  that  Diego  de  Arana, 
a  member  of  Beatrix's  family,  was  a  member  of  the  household  of 
Donna  Maria  de  Toledo,  the  vice-queen  of  the  Indies,  the 
widow  of  Don  Diego  Columbus,  where  his  rank,  as  well  as  his 
alliance  with  the  family  of  Columbus  through  Beatrix  Enriquez, 
gave  him  precedence  over  the  officers  of  the  household  of  the 
vice-queen.  Donna  Maria  de  Toledo  was  the  widow  of  the  second 
admiral,  Don  Diego  Columbus,  the  first  son  of  Columbus,  and 
she  was  a  niece  of  the  Duke  of  Alva.  It  is  not  possible  that  the 
proud  and  punctilious  family  of  the  Toledos  would  have  toler 
ated  the  presence  of  a  relative  of  Beatrix  had  her  relations  to 
Columbus  been  other  than  the  most  honorable. 

Fifth  :  During  the  voyages  of  Columbus  the  members  of  the 
family  of  his  first  and  of  the  family  of  his  second  wife  were 
brought  together  in  social  and  official  intercourse,  which  the 


ON   COLUMBUS.  113 

former  would  never  have  permitted  or  submitted  to  had  the 
relations  of  Columbus  and  Beatrix  Enriquez  been  tainted  with 
dishonor. 

Sixth  :  From  1487  to  1494  Columbus  left  both  his  sons,  Diego, 
the  son  of  his  first  wife,  and  Fernando,  the  son  of  Beatrix,  with 
his  second  wife,  Donna  Beatrix  Enriquez,  at  Cordova,  and  there 
the  education  of  these  two  sons  of  Columbus  was  superintended 
by  that  lady.  If  his  alliance  with  her  was  of  the  scandalous  char 
acter  represented  by  the  authors  we  have  named,  would  Colum 
bus,  after  he  had  broke.n  away  from  the  influence  of  her  charms, 
have  voluntarily  added  one  scandal  to  another,  by  putting  his 
young  son  Diego,  his  heir  and  successor,  with  a  woman  destitute 
of  virtue  ?  Would  he  have  so  deliberately  braved  the  odium  of 
public  opinion  and  the  proprieties  of  social  and  Christian  life  ? 
Would  he  have  done  so  gross  an  injustice  to  his  son  and  succes 
sor,  whose  legitimacy  is  unquestioned,  as  to  place  him  for  educa 
tion  with  his  mistress  ?  Would  Columbus  have  maintained  a 
household  at  Cordova  during  so  many  years,  with  Beatrix 
Enriquez  at  its  head  and  his  two  sons  in  her  charge,  subject  to 
her  authority,  recognizing  her  position,  and  associating  with  each 
other  upon  terms  of  perfect  equality  ?  If  it  be  alleged  that  the 
second  son  belonged  to  her,  then  what  can  be  said  of  his  sending 
his  first  son  to  her  care  for  his  education  ?  Would  he  have  sent 
the  son  of  his  wife  to  the  care  of  an  adulteress  ?  Would  he  have 
sent  on  such  a  mission  that  worthy  priest,  Father  Martin  Sanchez, 
when  the  latter  carried  Diego  to  Beatrix  ? 

Seventh  :  On  the  return  of  Bartholomew  Columbus,  the  noble 
brother  of  the  admiral,  from  England  and  France,  about  1494,  he 
went  to  Cordova  to  visit  his  sister-in-law,  Beatrix  Enriquez,  who 
was  there  engaged  in  rearing  and  educating  the  two  sons  of  the 
admiral.  Would  that  stern,  inflexible,  proud,  and  conscientious 
man  have  thus  recognized  this  lady  as  his  brother's  wife  and  his 
own  sister-in-law,  had  the  admiral's  relations  with  her  been  illicit 
and  immoral  ?  Would  he  not  have  struggled  to  bury  his  brother's 
shame,  his  nephew's  disgrace,  and  his  family's  embarrassment, 
rather  than  have  thus  given  publicity  to  them  ? 

Eighth  :  Bartholomew  Columbus  carried  his  two  nephews, 
Diego  and  Fernando,  from  the  guardianship  of  Beatrix  to  Queen 
Isabella,  and  presented  them  at  court  ;  and  the  latter  immedi 
ately  received  them  with  respect  and  honor,  and  appointed  both. 


114  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

of  them  pages  at  court.  Would  so  pious,  devout,  and  scrupu 
lous  a  Christian  as  Isabella  have  received  into  her  royal  house 
hold  either  the  illegitimate  son  or  his  associate,  both  just  from 
the  house  of  such  a  person  as  these  modern  authors  have  repre 
sented  Beatrix  to  have  been  ? 

Ninth  :  Queen  Isabella  expressed  great  admiration  at  the  man 
ner  in  which  the  two  sons  of  Columbus  had  been  reared  at  Cor 
dova  under  Beatrix  Enriquez,  by  her  open  acts  and  consequently 
by  corresponding  words  praised  their  deportment,  and  herself 
proposed  and  decided  to  receive  them  from  the  household  of 
Beatrix  into  her  own  household  and  make  them  members  thereof, 
and  provide  for  the  continuance  and  completion  of  their  educa 
tion.  She  appointed  both  Diego  and  Fernando  pages  to  her  son 
the  infante,  Prince  Juan  ;  and  to  their  uncle  the  queen  issued 
letters  of  nobility,  and  gave  him  the  command  of  three  ships  to 
proceed  to  the  relief  of  the  admiral.  Are  such  acts  on  the  part 
of  such  a  religious  and  scrupulous  woman  consistent  with  the 
alleged  disrepute  attributed  to  this  part  of  the  private  life  of 
Columbus  and  his  family  ?  Would  she  have  given  a  bastard  to 
her  son,  the  prince  and  infante,  Don  Juan,  as  his  page  and  com 
panion  ? 

Tenth  :  It  was  during  the  very  period  of  his  relations  and  mar 
riage  with  Beatrix  at  Cordova  and  of  the  birth  of  his  second  son, 
Fernando,  at  that  city,  and  the  following  years,  that  Columbus 
enjoyed  the  friendship  and  patronage  of  the  prelates  and  hie 
rarchy  of  the  Church,  and  of  such  high  ecclesiastics  as  the  queen's 
confessor,  of  the  Archbishop  of  Toledo,  of  the  prior  of  Prado, 
of  members  of  the  venerable  Council  of  Salamanca,  of  the  prior 
of  the  Franciscan  Convent  of  La  Rabida,  and  other  devout  and 
irreproachable  members  of  the  hierarchy.  His  son  Fernando 
was  born  at  Cordova  on  August  2pth,  1487.  No  secrecy  was 
thrown  around  the  event.*  On  the  contrary,  he  was  the  recog 
nized  son  of  the  admiral  and  of  Beatrix.  Would  such  recogni 
tion  have  followed  an  alliance  of  such  a  character,  especially 
when  it  was  accompanied  by  the  birth  of  an  illegitimate  son  ? 
Would  Columbus  have  been  received  at  all,  much  less  befriended, 
in  such  exclusive,  religious,  and  punctilious  circles  under  such 
circumstances  ?  Would  he  have  been  received  at  court  ? 


*  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  Count  de  Lorgues'  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  p.  39. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  11$ 

Eleventh  :  It  was  at  this  very  time  that  Columbus  was  making 
the  most  earnest  efforts  to  secure  the  patronage  of  the  king  and 
queen  to  his  urgent  proposals.  It  was  the  most  critical  period  of 
his  long  struggle.  Is  it  possible  that  a  man  whose  all  depended 
upon  every  and  the  least,  as  well  as  the  most  important  act  and 
event  of  his  imperilled  career,  would  have  risked  the  loss  of  all 
his  highest  and  dearest  aspirations  by  the  commission  of  such  an 
indiscretion  as  is  now  charged  against  him  ?  His  own  age  would 
have  made  the  act  more  offensive  to  a  Christian  court  ;  more 
hazardous  to  himself  and  his  dearest  hopes. 

Twelfth  :  It  was  during  this  period  of  his  life  also,  that  the 
religious  and  devout  character  and  every-day  life  of  Columbus 
was  marked  with  the  features  of  a  conscientious  and  devoted 
Christian.  How  could  a  man,  who  was  a  daily  worshipper  at 
the  altars  at  Cordova,  a  constant  frequenter  of  the  confessional 
and  of  the  Lord's  table,  have  been  at  the  same  time  a  seducer 
of  female  virtue  and  the  recognized  father  of  an  illegitimate  son  ? 
Of  all  the  crimes  imputed  to  him  by  his  enemies,  religious  and 
moral  hypocrisy  was  never  one  of  them. 

Thirteenth  :  The  subsequent  reception  at  court  of  Columbus 
himself  by  Isabella,  the  relations  of  respect,  confidence,  affection, 
admiration,  and  honor,  which  sprang  up  between  these  two 
remarkable  persons,  both  deeply  imbued  with  religion,  would 
seem  to  contradict  in  the  most  emphatic  manner  the  charge  of 
immorality  from  which  we  are  now  obliged  to  defend  him. 

Fourteenth  :  During  the  long  and  disastrous  struggle  of  Colum 
bus  with  his  countless  enemies,  when  all  Hispaniola  and  all  Spain 
resounded  with  accusations  of  every  kind  against  him  ;  when  it 
was  a  virtue  to  malign  and  libel  his  character,  and  a  service  to 
the  State  and  to  humanity  ;  when  falsehoods  of  every  kind  were 
invented  against  him,  if  such  an  unfortunate  and  unworthy  event 
as  this  now  under  consideration  had  existed  in  any  part  of  his 
life,  it  would,  without  the  possibility  of  its  omission,  have  been 
brought  out  against  him.  The  atmosphere  would  have  become 
sonorous  with  so  available  an  accusation  against  the  man,  whose 
enemies  were  active  incessantly  in  bringing  forward  every  pos 
sible  charge  against  his  character.  It  would  have  proved  an 
irresistible  weapon  in  the  hands  of  his  countless  enemies.  The 
silence  of  such  foes,  at  such  a  time  and  under  such  circumstances, 
is  the  virtual  acquittal  of  the  admiral. 


Il6  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

Fifteenth  :  During  the  whole  lifetime  of  Columbus,  and  for 
nearly  a  century  and  a  half  after  his  second  marriage,  not  the 
least  suspicion  was  cast  on  the  nature  of  his  connection  with 
Beatrix  Enriquez  ;  no  trace  of  it  can  be  found  ;  no  Spanish 
author  ever  alluded  to  such  a  charge  ;  its  origin  is  foreign  to 
Spain,  where  his  life  was  spent  and  well  known.  It  is  traced 
to  an  unfair  advantage  taken  of  his  own  words  at  so  great 
a  distance  of  time  from  his  death  and  of  space  from  the  scenes  of 
his  life.  Its  author  was  obscure  and  irresponsible.  His  first 
follower  in  the  charge  was  prejudiced.  He  had  a  motive  for  his 
charge  against  Columbus.  On  the  contrary,  Spanish  historians 
speak  of  his  second  marriage.  The  gravest  of  his  historians, 
Tiraboschi,  asserts  his  marriage  with  Beatrix  Enriquez,  as  do 
all  historians  near  the  time  of  Columbus. 

Sixteenth  :  From  the  columns  of  UUnivers,  the  leading  Catho 
lic  paper  of  France,  for  January  nth,  1877,  we  have  obtained  a 
copy  of  a  valuable  document,  a  manuscript  history,  written  only 
one  hundred  years  after  the  death  of  Columbus,  which  is  as 
follows  : 

"  Rev.  Father  Marcellino  da  Civezza  has  addressed  to  the  El 
Siglo  future  the  following  letter  : 

'  MR.  EDITOR  :  I  have  the  pleasure  of  informing  you  that 
I  have  discovered  a  new  and  decisive  document  on  the  subject 
of  the  legitimate  marriage  of  Columbus  with  Beatrix  Enriquez, 
of  Cordova,  in  the  Library  of  the  Royal  Historical  Academy  of 
Madrid.  This  valuable  document  is  to  be  found  in  the  ' '  General 
History  of  Cordova  and  of  its  Noble  Families,"  by  Dr.  Andre 
Morales  of  that  city,  a  manuscript  which  is  preserved  in  the 
above-named  library.  ' 

'  The  Bibliographical  Dictionary  of  Thomas  Munoz  de 
Romero,  1858,  expresses  itself  as  follows  in  speaking  of  this 
manuscript  : 

"  Manuscript  in  two  large  volumes.  This  extensive  work 
treats  of  the  history  of  Cordova  as  well  as  of  the  patrician  families 
who  have  their  origin  there,  whence  some  call  it  '  Nobiliary 
History  of  Cordova.'  The  author,  as  we  learn  from  a  note  in 
the  manuscript,  is  Father  Alphonse  Garcia,  of  the  Company  of 
Jesus,  brother  of  Dr.  Andre  Morales.  Concerning  Father  Garcia, 
Father  Ribadedeira,  in  the  '  Biblioteca  Scriptorum  Societatis 
Jesu,'  speaks  of  him  as  follows  : 


ON   COLUMBUS.  1 17 

"  '  "  '  Alphonse  Garcia,  Spaniard,  native  of  Cordova,  entered  at 
an  early  age  in  the  Society  ;  having  professed  the  four  solemn 
vows,  he  evangelized  the  Canary  Islands,  from  whence  he  came 
to  Ossuna,  where  he  was  appointed  rector  of  the  college,  and 
died  there  soon  after  in  the  year  1618. '  ' 

4  Now  we  come  to  the  valuable  document. 

"'"Christopher  Columbus,  Grand  Admiral  of  the  West 
Indies,  married  twice  :  the  first  time  in  Portugal  with  Donna 
Philippa  Moniz  de  Perestrello,  who  gave  him  his  eldest  son,  Don 
Diego  ;  the  second  time  in  Cordova,  with  a  young  lady  of  that 
city  named  Beatrix  Enriquez  de  Arana,  of  high  lineage,  a  de 
scendant  of  the  Viscaya,  and  from  her  he  had  Don  Fernand 
Columbus,  a  knight  of  great  intelligence,  bravery,  virtue,  and  a 
great  scholar,  after  leaving  the  service  of  the  Prince  Don  Juan, 
whose  page  he  had  been." 

'  This  document  is  of  superlative  importance,  agreeing  in 
every  respect  with  the  one  discovered  at  Valencia  by  the  Rev. 
Raymond  Buldee. 

'  I  take  the  opportunity,  Mr.  Editor,  etc., 

"  '  BROTHER  MARCELLING  DA  CIVEZZA, 
_' '  '  Historiographer  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis. '  ' 

The  other  works  alluded  to  in  connection  with  this  subject, 
both  pro  and  con,  have  been  general  histories  ;  but  the  work 
above  quoted,  and  containing  the  valuable  document  on  the  legit 
imacy  of  the  second  marriage  of  Columbus,  is  specially  devoted 
to  the  history  of  Cordova  and  of  its  noble  families.  It  is  also 
written  by  a  Cordovan.  Such  a  work  is  the  most  authentic  and 
reliable  authority  on  all  questions  relating  to  the  local  history  of 
that  city  and  its  noble  families,  and  its  positive  assertion  of  the 
legitimacy  of  the  second  marriage  of  Columbus  is  the  traditional 
voice  and  testimony  of  the  entire  community  of  Cordova,  in 
which  the  second  wife  of  Columbus  was  born,  lived  and  died, 
and  the  language  of  Father  Alphonse  Garcia  is  equivalent  to  the 
contemporary  voice  of  that  community  at  the  very  time  of  the 
second  marriage  itself  continued  down  to  his  time.  It  will  also 
be  noticed  that  reference  is  made  to  another  and  similar  docu 
ment,  affirming  the  legitimacy  of  the  second  marriage  of  Colum 
bus,  which  had  also  been  found  at  Valencia  by  the  Rev.  Father 
Raymond  Buldee.  A  copy  of  this  last  work  I  have  not  been 


Il8  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

able  to  obtain.  This  first  work  has  been  found  by  the  learned 
compiler  of  Lazzaroni's  "  Cristophoro  Colombo,"  published  at 
Milan  in  1892,  and  from  the  latter  work  I  shall  hereafter  make 
ample  quotations,  which  will  cover  this  and  other  points  dis 
cussed  in  relation  to  the  second  marriage  of  Columbus. 

Seventeenth  :  Spotorno,  in  order  to  support  his  accusation,  al 
leges  that  Beatrix  was  poor,  and  that  she  was  of  plebeian  origin. 
Both  these  statements  are  shown  to  have  been  untrue.  The 
Aranas  were  one  of  the  oldest  and  proudest  families  in  Spain, 
and  the  pension  provided  for  her  by  Columbus  was  never  de 
manded  by  her,  and  when  provided  by  his  will,  only  paid  for  a  time 
and  then  discontinued  after  a  few  years.  She  never  made  any 
complaint.  Had  Fernando  been  an  illegitimate  son  of  Bea 
trix,  her  nobility  of  birth  would  never  have  been  referred  to 
by  the  annalist  of  Seville  in  the  necrological  notice  of  her  son. 
In  later  times  her  purity  of  descent  was  actually  pleaded  by 
the  descendants  of  Columbus  through  his  first  marriage.  In 
1671  Don  Pedro  Columbus,  in  pleading  the  cause  of  the  Dukes 
of  Veragua,  reminded  the  Queen  of  Spain  that  the  two  sons  of 
the  admiral  were  descended  from  mothers  of  noble  birth.*  An 
tonio  de  Herrera,  the  royal  historiographer  of  Spain,  records 
the  second  marriage  of  Columbus  in  the  following  words  : 
"  After  the  death  of  his  first  wife  he  espoused  a  second,  named 
Beatrix  Enriquez,  of  the  city  of  Cordova,  by  whom  he  had  Fer 
nando,  a  virtuous  gentleman,  well  versed  in  the  seience  of  sound 
learning."  So  also  such  eminent  writers  as  Charlevoix,  Tira- 
boschi,  and  Robertson  state  that  Columbus  was  married  also  in 
Spain,  and  the  eminent  Alvarez  de  Colmenar  speaks  of  his  having 
been  twice  married.  The  Marquis  de  Belloy  refers  to  the  mar 
riage  of  Columbus  and  Beatrix  Enriquez  in  the  following  terms  : 
'  While  he  was  at  Cordova,  Columbus  took  up  again  for  a  living 
his  art  of  map-drawing,  all  the  while,  however,  enlisting  par 
tisans  for  his  project  and  making  numerous  and  powerful  friends. 
The  merit  of  the  man  shone  through  his  humble  circumstances, 
and  obtained  for  him  the  hand  of  a  girl  of  noble  birth,  Beatrix 
Enriquez,  by  whom  he  had  a  son  named  Fernando  or  Ferdinand. 
This  marriage  is  related  by  the  Historiographer  Royal  of  Spain, 
Antonio  de  Herrera.  It  encountered  some  opposition  from  the 


*  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  Count  de  Lorgues'  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  pp.  35,  36. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  119 

Enriquez  family,  but  the  extent  of  that  opposition  has  been 
grossly  exaggerated,  for  on  his  very  first  voyage,  when  his  great 
ness  was  yet  a  question  for  the  future  to  decide,  Columbus  took 
with  him  a  nephew  of  Donna  Beatrix,  and  at  a  later  date  a  young 
brother  of  hers  commanded  one  of  the  ships  of  the  third  expedi 
tion.  "* 

Eighteenth  :  The  objection  raised  by  Navarrete  to  the  legiti 
macy  of  the  admiral's  marriage  to  Beatrix,  that  no  registry  of 
his  marriage  with  her  can  be  found  or  produced,  is  answered  by 
the  facts  that  no  record  of  his  birth  or  of  his  death  can  be  found, 
and  at  the  time  of  his  marriage,  in  1486,  neither  registry  nor 
witnesses  were  required  either  by  the  laws  of  the  Church  or  of 
Spain  in  order  to  validate  a  marriage.  See  this  point  more  fully 
treated  in  thirtieth  reason,  postea. 

Nineteenth  :  The  authors  who  deny  the  marriage  of  Columbus 
to  Beatrix,  from  Nicolao  to  Navarrete  himself,  allege  as  a  reason 
for  their  denial  that  Columbus,  in  alluding  to  and  providing  for 
her  in  his  will,  does  not  call  her  his  wife  ;  and  yet  he  does  not 
say  she  was  not  his  wife,  nor  does  he  there  allude  to  her  in  any 
other  light.  But  this  objection  is  utterly  refuted,  and  the  fact 
that  she  was  his  wife  is  wholly  proven  by  the  testimony  of 
Columbus  himself,  and  this,  too,  in  a  letter  printed  and  published 
by  Navarrete  ;  for  in  a  letter  he  addressed  to  persons  whose 
duty  it  was  to  support  his  claim  at  the  court  of  Spain,  he 
states  that  he  had  "  quitted  all — wife  and  children — and  never 
enjoyed  the  sweetness  of  living  with  them."  '  Y  deje  mucher  y 
fijos  que  jamas  vi  por  ello."f  A  grandson  of  Navarrete  virtually 
recognizes  the  legitimacy  of  Fernando  in  speaking  of  the  two 
brothers,  Diego  and  Fernando,  in  the  same  sentence  and  as  being 
on  equal  terms  ;  he  says  that  Fernando,  equally  with  his  brother 
Diego,  was  one  of  the  greatest  favorites  of  the  Prince  Royal  of 
Spain.  ^ 

Twentieth  :  It  will  be  seen  that  Columbus  in  his  will  recog 
nizes  both  his  sons  as  on  a  perfect  equality  in  all  respects,  except 


*  Herrera,  "General  History  of  the  Voyages  and  Conquests  of  Castilians,"  ist 
•dec.,  b.  i.,  c.  7. 

f  Barry's  De  Lorgues"  "  Columbus  "  p.  43  ;  Navarrete,  "  Coleccion  Diplomatica," 
num.  cxxxvii. 

\  Eustaquio,  "Coleccion  ineditos  para  la  Historiade  Espafla,"  por  D.  Miguel  Salva. 
t.  xvi.,  p.  291. 


I2O  OLD    AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

in  the  necessary  and  indispensable  respect  of  the  primogeniture 
of  his  elder  son,  Don  Diego.  This  same  and  only  distinction 
between  them  would  have  occurred  had  both  been  the  sons  of 
the  same  mother.  The  priority  of  the  birth  of  Don  Diego  \vas 
simply  a  fact,  and  Columbus  recognized  it.  In  all  other  respects 
he  places  them  on  a  perfect  equality. 

Twenty-first  :  So  also  in  his  correspondence,  both  private  and 
official,  he  refers  to  his  two  sons  in  equal  terms.  His  manner  of 
referring  to  Fernando  is  free,  natural,  and  unrestrained  ;  and  in 
his  letters  to  the  Spanish  sovereigns  he  refers  constantly  to  Fer 
nando  without  reserve,  and  with  paternal  pride  he  praises  his 
precocious  talents  and  his  youthful  but  faithful  services.  If  he 
had  been  illegitimate,  would  he  have  thus  constantly  recalled  his 
own  shame  and  his  son's  dishonor  by  praising  him,  and  would 
he  have  so  often  recalled  the  embarrassing  fact  to  such  august 
and  important  personages  ?  In  fact,  the  alleged  irregularity  of 
the  admiral's  connection  with  Beatrix  and  the  alleged  illegitimacy 
of  Fernando,  if  true,  would  cause  him  embarrassment  in  his  life 
time,  but  it  did  not  do  so. 

Twenty-second  :  Mr.  Irving,  following  Navarrete  and  Hum- 
boldt,  assigns  the  attractions  of  Beatrix's  charms  and  the  preg 
nancy  of  that  lady  as  the  cause  for  the  admiral's  refusal  to  leave 
Cordova  on  the  request  of  King  John  II.  of  Portugal,  that  he 
would  return  to  Lisbon.  This  is  a  fair  illustration  of  the  inven 
tions  which  enter  into  supposed  history  ;  for  the  fact  is  that  the 
letter  of  the  Portuguese  king  came  to  Columbus  toward  the  last 
of  August,  1488,  whereas  the  accouchement  of  Beatrix  and  the 
birth  of  Fernando  had  already  taken  place  eight  months  before, 
and  Columbus,  in  the  year  he  received  King  John's  letter — 1488 
—was  following  the  court  at  Seville  and  Valladolid.  His  great 
mission  had  already  carried  him  away  from  Cordova. 

Twenty-third  :  In  the  solemn  conventions  between  Columbus 
and  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  dated  April  i/th,  1492,  the  prologue 
of  the  journal  of  Columbus,  the  royal  decree  of  May  2oth,  1493, 
and  all  other  documents  in  which  reference  could  be  made  to 
them,  the  two  sons  of  Columbus  are  uniformly  referred  to  ;  and 
where  Diego  is  to  be  distinguished  from  Fernando,  it  is  only  as 
the  eider  of  his  sons.  The  Count  de  Lorgues  states  that  the 
language  of  the  Mayorazgo  or  entailment  of  Columbus's  estate 
implies  evidently  that  Columbus  was  then  married,  in  foreseeing 


ON   COLUMBUS.  121 

that  he  might  have  other  children  than  the  two  sons  he  therein 
named,  and  yet  excluded  the  possibility  of  a  third  marriage. 

Twenty-fourth  :  The  fact  that  Columbus  regarded  Cordova, 
the  residence  of  Beatrix,  as  his  own  residence,  is  proved  by  the 
official  document  awarding  him  the  premium  for  first  seeing  the 
land  of  the  new  world,  and  the  award  was  made  payable  at  Cor 
dova.  This  was  the  city  where  his  family  resided.  He  was  then 
leading  a  wandering  life  of  discovery.  He  had  no  other  resi 
dence  than  that  of  his  wife  and  family.  His  family  consisted  of  his 
wife  and  two  sons.  This  fact  is  inconsistent  with  any  other  the 
ory  than  that  of  legal  marriage.  What  but  legitimate  marriage 
and  offspring  could  give  him  a  legal  residence  at  Cordova  after 
he  had  left  that  city  ? 

Twenty -fifth  :  His  two  sons  associated  together  on  terms  of 
perfect  equality  before  the  world.  They  were  introduced  at 
court  and  in  society  together.  They  were  universally  recog 
nized  by  their  contemporaries  as  equally  legitimate.  When 
Columbus  sent  to  congratulate  the  Portuguese  governor  of 
Arcilla,  who  had  among  his  officers  near  relations  of  his  first 
wife,  he  sent  his  very  son  Fernando  on  the  embassy.  Would  he 
have  sent  a  bastard  son  of  a  mistress  to  meet  and  associate  with 
a  near  relative  of  his  first  wife  ?  Would  not  this  have  been  an 
insult  to  the  officer  himself  and  to  the  memory  of  his  first  wife  ? 
How  could  Fernando  himself,  a  man  of  refined  education,  have 
recalled  afterward  in  his  history  of  his  father  a  circumstance  so 
humiliating  to  himself  ? 

Twenty-sixth  :  In  the  genealogical  trees  of  the  Columbus 
family,  the  two  sons  of  the  admiral  are  always  regarded  as 
equally  legitimate.  Such  evidence  is  of  the  highest  weight. 
The  Italian  members  of  the  Colombo  family,  at  the  trials  for  the 
succession  in  the  Spanish  tribunals,  presented  genealogies  in 
which  Fernando  was  placed  on  the  same  branch  with  his  brother 
Diego.  The  senator,  John  Peter  Sordi,  the  solicitor  or  advocate 
for  Balthazar  Colombo,  in  consultations  in  behalf  of  his  clients, 
always  recognized  the  legitimacy  of  Fernando.  An  eminent 
jurisconsult,  Don  Perez  de  Castro,  of  Madrid,  in  his  memorial 
to  the  Court  of  Appeals,  dated  July  i5th,  1/92,  indignantly  re 
jected  the  insinuation  of  the  attorney  de  la  Palma  y  Freytas,  as 
to  the  illegitimacy  of  Fernando,  and  declared  that  no  portion  of 
the  proceedings  cast  the  least  doubt  on  the  legitimacy  of  Fer- 


122  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

nando.  The  genealogical  tree  of  the  Cucarro  branch  of  the 
Colombos  places  Diego  and  Fernando  side  by  side  and  on  the 
same  branch,  and  this  family  always  recognized  the  legitimacy 
of  Fernando.  Luigi  Colombo,  in  express  terms,  recognizes  the 
legitimacy  of  Fernando.  Family  trees  and  family  recognitions 
constitute  the  highest  evidences  on  all  questions  of  marriage, 
legitimacy,  and  descent. 

Twenty-seventh  :  While  some  obscure  words  in  the  will  of 
Columbus,  though  capable  of  being  construed  quite  differently, 
are  relied  upon  for  the  charge  that  Columbus  was  never  married 
to  Beatrix  Enriquez,  so  by  another  and  clearly  expressed  portion 
of  the  same  document  we  are  able  to  prove  the  legitimacy  of 
Fernando  Columbus,  and  consequently  the  legality  of  the  second 
marriage  of  the  admiral.  In  this  remarkable  document  legiti 
macy  of  birth  is  expressly  declared  to  be  the  test  of  succession 
to  his  inheritance  or  entailed  estate,  and  illegitimacy  is  made  an 
insuperable  obstacle  to  the  succession.  In  the  same  instrument 
he  makes  his  son  Fernando,  the  son  of  Beatrix  Enriquez,  his  heir 
and  successor  in  the  event  of  his  eldest  son  Diego  dying  without 
children.  Such  provisions  of  the  will  are  equivalent  to  an  ex 
press  declaration  by  the  admiral  himself,  and  that,  too,  in  the 
most  solemn  document  he  ever  executed,  that  Fernando  Colum 
bus  was  his  legitimate  son,  and  that  Beatrix  Enriquez  was  his 
lawful  wife.  It  would  not  seem  possible  that  a  man  of  the  great 
intellect  of  Columbus,  so  clear  and  logical,  so  consistent  and 
uniform  in  every  act,  could  have  perpetrated  such  a  blunder  or 
could  have  been  guilty  of  such  an  inconsistency  as  this  would 
prove  to  be  if  Fernando  Columbus  be  declared  a  bastard.  So 
important  is  this  evidence,  that  I  will  give  the  clause  in  question 
as  it  is  written  in  the  admiral's  will. 

'  In  the  first  place,  I  am  to  be  succeeded  by  Don  Diego,  my 
son,  who,  in  case  of  death  without  children,  is  to  be  succeeded 
by  my  other  son,  Fernando1.  .  .  .  And  should  it  please  the 
Lord  that  the  estate,  after  continuing  for  some  time  in  the  line 
of  any  of  the  above  successors,  should  stand  in  need  of  an  imme 
diate  and  lawful  male  heir,  the  succession  shall  then  devolve  to 
the  nearest  relative,  being  a  man  of  legitimate  birth.  .  .  . 
This  entailed  estate  shall  in  nowise  be  inherited  by  a  woman, 
except  in  case  that  no  male  is  to  be  found,  either  in  this  or  any 
other  quarter  of  the  world,  of  my  real  lineage,  whose  name,  as 


OX    COLUMBUS.  123 

well  as  that  of  his  ancestors,  shall  have  always  been  that  of 
Columbus.  In  such  an  event  (which  may  God  forfend),  then  the 
female  of  legitimate  birth  most  nearly  related  to  the  preceding 
possessor  of  the  estate  shall  succeed  to  it."* 

Twenty-eighth  :  While  it  would  not  be  fair  or  just  or  consist 
ent  with  the  canons  of  correct  construction  to  put  upon  the 
clause  of  the  will  relating  to  Beatrix  Enriquez  a  construction 
which  would  make  Columbus  assign  himself  and  her,  whom  he 
loved  so  well,  to  obloquy  or  disgrace,  such  a  construction  would 
be  still  less  to  be  tolerated  if  any  other  rational  construction  can 
be  placed  upon  it,  or  any  other  state  of  facts  established  which 
would  harmonize  with  the  language  of  the  will.  This  can  be 
done. 

Shortly  after  his  marriage  to  Beatrix  he  was  compelled  to 
leave  her  and  the  city  of  Cordova,  to  follow  the  court  from 
place  to  place,  and  to  prosecute  his  great  mission.  The  re 
mainder  of  the  year  of  his  marriage — 1486 — he  was  seeking  an 
audience  at  court.  In  1487  he  was  before  the  Scientific  Congress 
or  Junto  of  Salamanca.  He  was  absent  from  Cordova  when  his 
son  Fernando  was  born,  and  the  end  of  this  year  finds  him  at  Sara- 
gossa.  In  1488  we  find  him  at  Seville  and  afterward  at  Valladolid, 
and  it  was  in  this  year  that  he  went  to  Lisbon  to  meet  his  brother 
Bartholomew.  In  1489  we  find  him  again  at  Seville,  following  up 
the  court.  The  remainder  of  that  year  he  spent  in  the  field  as  a 
volunteer  in  the  campaign  of  Baza.  During  this  year  he  paid  a 
flying  visit  to  Cordova  and  to  Beatrix  and  his  sons.  In  1490  he 
was  the  guest  of  the  Duke  of  Medina  Sidonia  and  of  the  Duke 
of  Medina  Celi.  He  was  the  guest  of  the  Duke  of  Medina  Celi 
through  the  year  1491  and  a  part  of  1492.  In  this  latter  year  he 
had  secured  the  confidence  of  the  sovereigns,  negotiated  his 
solemn  conventions  or  treaties  with  them,  went  on  his  first  voy 
age,  and  discovered  the  new  world.  From  that  time  to  the  day 
of  his  death,  a  period  of  alternate  labor,  trials,  successes  and 
misfortunes,  and  of  incessant  toil  and  application  to  his  assumed 
and  recognized  mission,  we  have  no  account  of  his  having  visited 
or  seen  Beatrix,  except  at  intervals  stolen  from  his  engrossing 
duties.  When  his  sons  were  taken  from  Cordova  he  was  in  the 


*  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  Count  de  Lorgues'  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  pp.  619,  620  ; 
Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  iii.,  p.  444. 


124  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

Indies,  and  his  brother  Bartholomew  had  to  go  to  that  city  for 
them.  During  these  years  of  feverish  excitement  and  incessant 
travels,  the  wife  shared  none  of  his  solicitude  and  participated 
not  in  his  triumphs,  and  yet  she  performed  the  duties  of  a  mother 
and  guardian  to  both  his  sons.  She  also  maintained  his  legal 
domicile  at  Cordova.  She  was  evidently  ever  submissive,  un 
complaining,  faithful,  maternal,  domestic,  and  loving. 

Was  it  not  true,  then,  that  Columbus  was  greatly  indebted  to 
her  ?  Was  it  not  true  that  so  long  a  separation  from  his  wife, 
the  head  of  his  household  at  Cordova,  the  guardian  and  educator 
of  his  children,  the  silent  and  uncomplaining  partner  of  his  love, 
a  neglect  and  forgetfulness  of  her  which  we  have  not  sufficient 
facts  to  explain,  except  in  the  overwhelming  engrossment  of  the 
husband,  should  weigh  heavily  on  his  soul  and  on  his  conscience  ? 
Was  not  this  tardy  provision  made  to  enable  her  to  live  suitably 
—that  is,  in  a  manner  suitable  to  his  wife — when  once  made,  a 
relief  to  his  conscience  ?  Why  should  he  be  so  solicitous  for  the 
suitable  living  of  one  whom  he  had  neglected,  if  she  were  not  his 
wife  ?  Having  established  a  house  in  Cordova,  was  it  not  proper 
and  just  that  he  should  suitably  maintain  and  support  the  long- 
neglected  wife  therein  ?  And  why  should  so  sensitive  a  nature 
as  Columbus's  disclose  to  the  world  the  causes  or  reasons  for  his 
action  ?  Had  there  been  anything  cruel  in  the  conduct  of  Colum 
bus  toward  Beatrix,  his  countless  enemies  would  certainly  have 
accused  him  of  it.  From  this  it  would  seem  that  his  long  ab 
sences  from  Beatrix  assumed  in  his  just  mind  exaggerated  pro 
portions,  and  he  repentantly  endeavored  to  satisfy  the  sugges 
tions  of  his  conscience.  There  was  no  occasion  for  his  publish 
ing  such  a  matter  to  the  world.  Had  the  facts  for  which  he  thus 
showed  such  regret  been  culpable  or  criminal,  as  charged  against 
him,  involving  also  the  inculpation  of  one  loved  by  him  and  the 
dishonor  of  one  he  loved  with  a  father's  love,  Columbus  would 
never  have  made  the  slightest  allusion  to  them.  This  theory, 
I  think,  fully  accounts  for  and  explains  the  clause  in  the  will, 
and  sets  the  conduct  of  Columbus  above  all  reproach. 

Twenty-ninth  :  While,  of  course,  there  is  nothing  authentic 
known  to  the  public  in  relation  to  the  process  for  the  canoniza 
tion  at  Rome  of  Christopher  Columbus,  the  fact  that  there  is  a 
widespread  desire  among  learned  and  devout  members  of  his 
Church,  including  eminent  ecclesiastics  and  authors,  for  his  re- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  12$ 

ceiving  the  honors  of  the  altar,  go  far  to  remove  and  discredit 
the  accusation  of  an  illicit  connection  between  him  and  Beatrix 
Enriquez.  Tradition  and  general  reputation,  and  the  fame  of 
religion  which  has  always  clung  to  his  life,  acquit  him  of  every 
such  stain.  There  has  been  printed  by  the  American  news- 
press  during  the  centennial  year  a  statement,  purporting  to  come 
from  Rome,  that  the  process  for  his  canonization  had  been 
arrested  on  account  of  the  charge  that  his  relations  with  Beatrix 
Enriquez  were  not  sanctioned  by  marriage.  But  the  present 
writer  has  good  authority  for  stating  that  no  such  statement  as 
this  has  ever  emanated  from  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Rites 
at  Rome,  which  has  charge  of  the  process  of  canonization.  In 
no  instance  are  such  statements  permitted  to  issue  or  receive 
countenance  from  that  holy  commission.  Mention  has  already 
been  made  in  these  pages  of  important  documents  said  to  have 
been  found  within  recent  years  in  Spain,  which  it  is  thought  will 
go  far  to  authenticate  a  legal  marriage,  and  I  have  good  reason 
for  the  belief  that  private  documents  have  also  been  found  and 
presented  which  establish  that  fact. 

Thirtieth  :  There  is  another  view  of  this  subject  which  seems 
not  to  have  been  presented  in  other  works  relating  to  Columbus. 
Taking  the  facts  as  they  are  known  to  us  and  are  undisputed,  it 
is  clear  and  indisputable  that,  according  to  the  ecclesiastical  law 
of  the  time,  Columbus  and  Beatrix  Enriquez  were  lawfully  mar 
ried.  That  ecclesiastical  law,  at  the  time  of  the  marriage,  not 
only  determines  its  validity,  but  as  the  law  of  Spain  and  the  con 
tinental  law  generally  conformed  thereto,  their  marriage  was 
valid  under  the  civil  law.  The  law  of  the  Catholic  Church  on 
this  subject  is  clearly  set  forth  in  the  following  passages  from  a 
recent  work,  which  bears  the  imprimaturs  of  the  Rev.  Edward  S. 
Keogh,  Deputy  Censor  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Oratory,  of 
His  Eminence  Cardinal  Manning,  Archbishop  of  Westminster, 
and  of  His  Eminence  Cardinal  McCloskey,  Archbishop  of  New 
York. 

'  The  conditions  for  the  validity  of  marriage  are  mostly  identi 
cal  with  the  conditions  which  determine  the  validity  of  contracts 
in  general.  The  consent  to  the  union  must  be  mutual,  voluntary, 
deliberate,  and  manifested  by  external  signs.  The  signs  of  con 
sent  need  not  be  verbal  in  order  to  make  the  marriage  valid, 
though  the  rubric  of  the  ritual  requires  the  consent  to  be  ex- 


126  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

pressed  in  that  manner.     The  consent  must  be  to  actual  mar 
riage,  then  and  there,  not  at  some  future  time."* 

'  The  validity  of  clandestine  marriages  was  fully  recognized 
by  the  Church,  and  the  common  opinion  of  the  mediaeval  doctors 
made  the  essence  of  marriage  consist  in  the  free  consent  of  the 
contracting  parties.  The  Council  of  Trent  introduced  a  new 
condition  for  the  validity  of  the  contract,  and  therefore  of  the 
sacrament.  It  declared  all  marriages  null  unless  contracted 
before  the  parish  priest  or  another  priest  approved  by  him  for 
the  purpose,  and  two  or  three  witnesses,  "f 

Now,  as  I  have  already  stated,  the  marriage  of  Columbus  and 
Beatrix  Enriquez  took  place  in  the  latter  part  of  November,  1486, 
and  the  first  session  of  the  Council  of  Trent  did  not  take  place 
until  December  loth,  1545,  so  that  at  the  time  of  the  marriage 
in  question — 1487 — the  consent  of  the  parties  manifested  by  words 
or  other  signs  of  consent,  in  presenti,  constituted  a  valid  marriage, 
and  so  the  law  remained  for  nearly  sixty  years  thereafter,  when 
the  Council  of  Trent,  in  1546,  for  the  first  time  required  the  pres 
ence  of  a  priest  and  of  two  or  more  witnesses. 

There  is  no  question  in  this  case  as  to  the  affection  and  consent 
between  Columbus  and  Beatrix,  for  all  authorities  testify  to  this, 
nor  is  there  anything  even  to  exclude  the  additional  fact  of  a 
ceremony  in  the  presence  of  priest  and  witnesses,  even  though 
these  features  were  not  requisite.  A  registry  was  neither  re 
quired  nor,  as  it  seems,  customary.  The  subsequent  birth  of  a 
son,  at  the  wife's  residence  at  Cordova,  the  recognition  of  that 
son  by  the  most  frequent  and  solemn  acts,  the  establishment  of  a 
house  and  residence  at  Cordova  for  his  wife  and  his  children 
by  the  two  marriages,  his  return  to  that  house  and  residence 
from  time  to  time,  the  education  of  his  children  there  by  the 
wife,  his  acquisition  and  claim  of  a  legal  domicile  at  the  place 
where  he  had  established  the  residence  and  domicile  of  his  family — 
Cordova — over  which  Beatrix  presided  as  wife  and  mother,  are 
facts  and  circumstances  which  bring  the  case  clearly  within  the 
requirements  both  of  the  laws  of  the  Church  and  of  the  State. 


"A   Catholic   Dictionary,"  etc.,  by  William  E.  Addis,  secular  priest,  sometime 
Fellow  of  the  Royal  University  of  Ireland,  and  Thomas  Arnold,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  the 
same  university.     New  York:  The  Catholic  Publication  Society,  1884,  p.  548. 
f  /</.,  p.  435. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  I2/ 

Such  a  state  of  facts  would,  at  common  law,  prove  a  valid  mar 
riage  both  in  England  and  America  at  the  present  day. 

The  following  instructive  and  interesting  passage  from  Shel- 
ford's  "  Law  of  Marriage  and  Divorce,"  on  the  Council  of  Trent 
and  its  action  on  the  subject  of  marriage,  will  be  read  with  inter 
est  by  our  readers.* 

"  This  celebrated  council  was  held  in  the  bishopric  of  Trent, 
a  province  of  Germany,  in  the  circle  of  Austria,  situated  upon 
the  Alps.  It  sat  with  some  intermissions  from  the  year  1545  to 
1563,  when  the  doctrine  of  the  Pope's  infallibility,  transubstan- 
tiation,  etc.,  were  confirmed.  The  council  was  first  opened 
under  Paul  III.,  on  December  I3th,  1545,  continued  under  Julius 
III.,  interrupted  under  Marcellus  II.  and  Paul  IV.  by  the  wars 
and  troubles  of  the  continent,  and  terminated  about  the  year 
1563,  and  was  confirmed  by  a  bull  signed  by  a  legate  of  the  Holy 
See,  who,  according  to  the  practice  of  all  ages,  presided  at  the 
assembly.  (Halkerstone's  Dig.,  69,  note.  See  History  of  this 
Council,  by  Father  Paul,  fol.,  London,  1676,  and  Pallavi- 
cino.) 

'  There  is,  among  the  true  believers,  nothing  more  certain  and 
undoubted  than  that  the  marriage  contract  has  been  elevated  to 
the  dignity  of  a  sacrament  ;  this  is  a  truth  inherent  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  tenets,  established  by  the  sovereign  pontiff,  Eugene  IV., 
in  his  decree  instituted  for  the  Armenians,  section  7,  repeated  by 
the  Holy  Council  of  Trent,  in  section  24,  ''Of  the  Reform  of 
Marriage,"  chapter  i,  and  learnedly  upheld  and  illustrated  by 
Bellarmino,  in  his  book  entitled  "  Of  Holy  Marriage,"  against 
the  attacks  of  Luther,  Calvin,  and  other  heretics.  In  order,  there 
fore,  that  the  faithful  should  celebrate  the  marriage  most  religious 
ly,  which  the  apostle,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  chapter  5, 
denominates  "  a  great  sacrament  in  Christ,"  and  in  the  Church, 
from  the  earliest  times  of  the  Church  itself,  it  has  been  instituted 
and  held  that  the  marriage  ought  to  be  celebrated  before  the 
priest,  by  whom  it  was  validated  with  his  benediction.  How 
ever,  whatever  may  have  been  the  ancient  discipline  respecting 
the  validity  of  those  marriages  which  had  been  celebrated  with 
out  the  assistance  of  the  rector,  it  is  now  beyond  all  doubt  that 
no  marriage  can  at  present  be  validly  celebrated  unless  with 


*  See  "  Canones  et  Decreta  Concilii  Trident."  sess.  24,  c.  I. 


128  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

observance  of  the  forms  prescribed  by  the  Holy  Council  of 
Trent.  That  doctrine  appears  to  be  strictly  established  by  the 
said  council  in  section  24,  "  Of  the  Reform  of  Marriage,"  chapter 
i,  in  which  we  find  the  following  passage  :  "  Qui  aliter,  quam  prae- 
sente  parocho,  vel  alio  sacerdote,  de  ipsius  parochi  sen  ordanarii 
licentia,  et  duobus  vel  tribus  testibus  matrimonium  contrahare 
attentabunt,  eos  sancta  Synodus  ad  sic  contrahendum  omnino  in- 
habiles  reddet  et  hujusmodi  contractus  irritos  et  nullos  esse  decer- 
nit,  prout  eos  praesenti  decreto  irritos  facit  et  annullat  "  ("  Concilii 
Trident.  Canones  et.  Decreta,"  p.  250,  ed.  1615).  'If  any  per 
son  shall  presume  to  contract  marriage  otherwise  than  in  the 
presence  of  the  parish  rector,  or  of  another  priest  delegated  by 
the  said  parish  rector  or  the  ordinary,  and  in  the  presence  of 
two  or  three  witnesses,  the  holy  synod  renders  them  unapt  for 
so  contracting  ;  and  it  declares  such  contracts  as  null  and  void, 
as  by  this  present  decree  it  renders  void  and  annuls  the  same. 
And  it  is  hereby  declared  that  the  marriage  benediction  shall  be 
given  by  the  proper  parish  rector,  and  that  the  license  for  so 
giving  the  said  benediction  cannot  be  granted  to  another  priest 
by  any  other  person  than  the  rector  himself  or  the  ordinary." 
It  is  therefore  quite  clear  that  in  Rome,  and  in  all  other  places 
where  the  Council  of  Trent  is  received,  the  marriage  must  be 
celebrated  before  the  proper  parish  rector,  and  in  the  presence 
of  two  witnesses.  By  "proper  rector"  is  to  be  understood  the 
rector  in  whose  parish  the  contracting  parties  have  their  resi 
dence  ;  and  as  it  may  happen  that  the  two  contracting  parties 
are  residents  in  two  different  parishes,  it  will  then  be  sufficient 
for  the  validity  of  the  marriage  that  the  act  be  performed  with 
the  intervention  of  the  parish  rector  of  either  of  the  parties. 
And  this  principle  is  so  far  a  matter  of  strict  rule,  that  even  for 
eigners  and  travelers,  who  may  happen  to  be  making  but  a  tem 
porary  sojourn  in  some  place  where  the  Council  of  Trent  is  re 
ceived,  cannot  validly  contract  marriage  without  observing  that 
formality,  as  among  other  matters  is  laid  down  and  explained  by 
Pirking  in  the  Decretal,  Book  IV.,  title  3,  section  2,  No.  10,  in 
which  is  contained  the  following  (from  the  Latin)  :  "  Foreigners 
who  are  merely  passing  through  a  place  in  which  a  decree  of  the 
Council  of  Trent  is  received  cannot  validly  contract  marriage, 
unless  it  be  done  with  the  assistance  of  the  parish  recto'r  and 
before  witnesses,  even  should  the  said  decree  not  be  received  at 


ON  COLUMBUS.  129 

the  place  in  which  they  make  their  residence,  because  they  are 
bound  to  observe  the  laws  of  the  place  through  which  they  are 
then  passing.  In  addition  to  this,  neither  the  parish  rector  nor 
the  ordinary  himself,  or  any  other  superior  authority,  could 
grant  faculty  for  uniting  in  marriage  two  persons  who  were  not 
Roman  Catholics,  because  it  is  an  absurdity  that  those  who  are 
disunited  from  the  Church  should  be  made  participators  of  a 
sacrament  of  that  same  Church."  From  the  deposition  of  Bel- 
loni.  Doctor  of  Civil  and  Canon  Law,  stated  in  joint  appendix  to 
the  case  of  Swift  vs.  Kelly,  before  the  judgment  committee  of 
the  Privy  Council,  pp.  138,  139.'  ' 

It  was  not  until  after  the  foregoing  pages  had  been  written 
that  I  saw  and  read  a  new  book,  a  noble  monument  to  Chris 
topher  Columbus,  a  work  recently  published  at  Milan,  and  en 
titled  "  Crist.oforo  Colombo.  Osservazioni  Critiche  sui  punti  pui 
rilevanti  e  controversi  della  sua  vita,  publicata  per  cura  di  M.  A. 
Lazzaroni."  The  learned  and  accomplished  author  of  this  work 
devotes  a  considerable  space  to  the  consideration  of  the  question 
of  the  marriage  of  Columbus  and  Beatrix  Enriquez,  regarding  it 
as  one  of  the  most  salient  and  controverted  points  in  the  life  of 
the  admiral.  He  handles  the  subject  with  research,  with  impar 
tiality,  with  learning,  with  eloquence,  and  with  consummate 
ability.  He  intelligently  and  cogently  espouses  the  cause  of  the 
legitimacy  of  the  second  marriage,  and  his  arguments  seem  un 
answerable.  The  logic  of  his  facts  is  most  convincing.  He  has 
found  in  the  valuable  and  important  work  of  Dondero,  on  "  The 
Morality  of  Columbus,"  quotations  from  two  important  works  : 
the  one  written  by  the  Jesuit  Father  Alphonso  Garcia,  in  1618, 
and  the  other  written  by  Father  Pietro  Simon  di  Parillas,  in  1627 
—works  which  show  the  voice  of  authentic  history  during  those 
one  hundred  and  sixty  years  prior  to  the  invention  of  the  libra 
rian,  Nicolao  Antonio,  that  the  relations  of  Columbus  and  Beatrix 
were  not  sanctioned  by  marriage.  And  these  quotations  he  gives 
us.  He  also  gives  the  full  title  of  the  manuscript  or  document 
first  mentioned  in  this  chapter  in  the  sixteenth  reason  for  sustain 
ing  the  marriage  of  Columbus  and  Beatrix.  He  also  gives  us 
important  testimony  from  the  pen  of  Columbus  himself,  taken 
from  an  authentic  copy  of  an  autograph  letter  of  Columbus,  dated 
April  23d,  1497.  The  treatment  of  the  subject  in  Signer  Laz 
zaroni 's  fine  work  is  so  unique  and  so  cogent  that  I  have  deemed 


130  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

it  but  just  to  the  learned  author  to   introduce  it  here  in  full,, 
which  I  have  done  in  a  translation  made  of  the  following  pages  : 

"  Want  !  yes,  Columbus  had  felt  it  that  first  year  of  his  sojourn 
in  Spain,  and,  perhaps,  afterward,  but  did  not  allow  himself  to 
be  cast  down  by  it,  as  happens  with  weak  minds,  and  never 
listened  to  its  dangerous  counsels.  He  was  so  absorbed  in  the 
idea,  become  now  the  absolute  master  of  his  spirit,  as  not  to 
advert  to  the  sad  contingencies  of  life  ;  so  compassed  by  the 
loftiness  of  his  conceptions  as  to  carry  his  head  erect  amid  trials, 
and  wear  gracefully  and  with  dignity  his  torn  cloak.  A  gravity 
tempered  by  modesty,  a  cheerful  comeliness,  facile  eloquence, 
goodness  and  authority,  breathing  from  his  whole  air,  are  the 
lines  that  prevail  in  the  portraits  left  us  of  him  by  contemporary 
writers. 

"  Although  these  notes  portray  the  discoverer  at  the  zenith  of 
his  renown,  they  all  the  same  attest  that  which  he  would  be 
under  adverse  fortune,  granting  that  happy  successes  and  pro 
pitious  fortune  deteriorate  rather  than  better  the  character's 
good  qualities.  A  precocious  old  age,  that  from  thirty  years 
bleached  his  blond  locks,  made  more  striking  the  vivid  bloom 
of  his  cheeks,  above  which  his  clear  eyes  benignantly  shone,  and 
outlined  with  imperative  evidence  his  aquiline  nose. 

'  With  these  manners  and  appearance,  Columbus  presented 
himself  to  the  sovereigns  of  Spain,  and  placed  at  their  feet  a  new 
world,  and  knew  how  to  make  his  poverty  light  for  himself  and 
respected  by  others.  We  were  about  to  say  that  he  knew  how 
to  make  it  lovable  ;  for  not  only  admiration  and  friendship  were 
drawn  to  him,  but  love,  too,  discerning  the  excellence  of  his 
spirit  under  his  modest  garb,  was  there  to  console  him  with  its 
sweetness.  This  brings  us  to  touch  another  very  ticklish  point 
of  Columbus's  life,  and  seriously  controverted  in  our  day.  Col 
umbus  had,  when  dying,  a  sad  souvenir  of  her  who,  when  he  was 
poor  and  almost  unknown,  had  yielded  up  to  him  her  affections, 
and  made  bud  forth  some  roses  on  the  thorns  of  his  first  resi 
dence  in  Cordova.  However,  the  secret  grief  that  tempers  those 
memorable  words  seemed  the  ill-disguised  expression  of  a  re 
morse,  the  mysterious  hinting  at  a  fault,  and  that  testamentary 
disposition  became  the  gauge  of  battle  and  controversy.  But 
to  return.  Columbus  had  in  manners  and  mien  all  that  best 
pleases,  but  his  rare  loftiness  of  soul,  that  vibrated  in  his  warm 


ON   COLUMBUS.  13! 

and  eloquent  speech,  was  the  bait  by  which  were  taken  all  who 
had  relations  with  him.  He  was,  withal,  a  very  simple  man,  but 
the  simplicity  that  rarely  dissociates  itself  from  true  greatness 
flowed  in  him  from  a  special  fountain — from  his  singular  piety. 
One  would  give  an  imperfect  and  disfigured  portrait  of  the  great 
navigator,  who  would  be  silent  with  regard  to  his  sincere  and 
almost  mystical  piety,  his  living  faith,  which,  blending  itself 
with  genuine  spiritualism,  uplifted  to  the  height  of  mysterious 
revelations  the  offspring  of  his  own  intellect.  That  such  relig 
ious  fervor,  which  characterizes  Columbus,  was  not  borne  by 
him  from  Italy,  a  country  republican,  commercial,  greedy  of 
riches,  as  Humboldt  affirmed,  but  learned  in  Andalusia,  at  Gra 
nada,  and  in  conversation  with  the  friars  of  La  Rabida,  seems 
to  us  the  assertion  best  founded  of  the  celebrated  German 
writer.* 

'  Without  diffusiveness,  let  us  say  in  passing  that  to  souls  of 
the  temper  of  Columbus  certain  qualities  do  not  attach  them 
selves  ;  they  are  born  and  develop  with  the  individual,  and  con 
stitute  rather,  at  times,  the  secret  of  his  singularity  and  great 
ness.  Had  not  Humboldt  written  of  Columbus  :  '  In  effect,  all 
that  seems  to  belong  but  to  the  narrow  circle  of  the  material  in 
terests  of  life  rise  in  the  occult  mind  of  this  extraordinary  man 
to  a  nobler  sphere,  to  a  mysterious  spiritualism  '  ?  f  Why,  then, 
take  back  one's  word  ? 

Republican  and  commercial  Italy  had  also  her  religious  or 
theological  fervor,  as  Humboldt  calls  it.  It  will  suffice,  among 
many  examples,  to  remember  that  in  the  country  of  Macchiavelli, 
Savonarola  arose,  and  that  from  the  hearing  of  thirty  votive 
masses  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Cola  di  Rienza,  who  professed  to  be 
His  envoy,  mounted  the  capitol  to  then  awaken  pagan  echoes 
and  fantasies  of  the  republic  and  the  tribune's  office.  Would  it 
not  be  more  likely  to  say  that  in  Columbus,  believing  like  a  man 
of  his  time,  as  a  mariner,  as  a  good  Genoese,  religious  fervor 
mounted  to  the  height  of  his  other  stupendous  qualities  ? 

'  To  affirm  that  he  acquired  it  in  Spain,  besides  being  im 
proper  to  us,  seems  dangerous  to  the  reputation  of  Columbus  ; 
the  glare  of  the  funeral  pyres,  the  fierce  san  benitos,  and  the 


*  "  Hist,  de  la  Geograph.,"  etc.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  258,  Paris,  1837. 
f  Id.,  vol.  i.,  p.  109.  Paris,  1837. 


130  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

it  but  just  to  the  learned  author  to   introduce  it  here  in  full,, 
which  I  have  done  in  a  translation  made  of  the  following  pages  : 

"  Want  !  yes,  Columbus  had  felt  it  that  first  year  of  his  sojourn 
in  Spain,  and,  perhaps,  afterward,  but  did  not  allow  himself  to 
be  cast  down  by  it,  as  happens  with  weak  minds,  and  never 
listened  to  its  dangerous  counsels.  He  was  so  absorbed  in  the 
idea,  become  now  the  absolute  master  of  his  spirit,  as  not  to 
advert  to  the  sad  contingencies  of  life  ;  so  compassed  by  the 
loftiness  of  his  conceptions  as  to  carry  his  head  erect  amid  trials, 
and  wear  gracefully  and  with  dignity  his  torn  cloak.  A  gravity 
tempered  by  modesty,  a  cheerful  comeliness,  facile  eloquence, 
goodness  and  authority,  breathing  from  his  whole  air,  are  the 
lines  that  prevail  in  the  portraits  left  us  of  him  by  contemporary 
writers. 

"  Although  these  notes  portray  the  discoverer  at  the  zenith  of 
his  renown,  they  all  the  same  attest  that  which  he  would  be 
under  adverse  fortune,  granting  that  happy  successes  and  pro 
pitious  fortune  deteriorate  rather  than  better  the  character's 
good  qualities.  A  precocious  old  age,  that  from  thirty  years 
bleached  his  blond  locks,  made  more  striking  the  vivid  bloom 
of  his  cheeks,  above  which  his  clear  eyes  benignantly  shone,  and 
outlined  with  imperative  evidence  his  aquiline  nose. 

'  With  these  manners  and  appearance,  Columbus  presented 
himself  to  the  sovereigns  of  Spain,  and  placed  at  their  feet  a  new 
world,  and  knew  how  to  make  his  poverty  light  for  himself  and 
respected  by  others.  We  were  about  to  say  that  he  knew  how 
to  make  it  lovable  ;  for  not  only  admiration  and  friendship  were 
drawn  to  him,  but  love,  too,  discerning  the  excellence  of  his 
spirit  under  his  modest  garb,  was  there  to  console  him  with  its 
sweetness.  This  brings  us  to  touch  another  very  ticklish  point 
of  Columbus's  life,  and  seriously  controverted  in  our  day.  Col 
umbus  had,  when  dying,  a  sad  souvenir  of  her  who,  when  he  was 
poor  and  almost  unknown,  had  yielded  up  to  him  her  affections, 
and  made  bud  forth  some  roses  on  the  thorns  of  his  first  resi 
dence  in  Cordova.  However,  the  secret  grief  that  tempers  those 
memorable  words  seemed  the  ill-disguised  expression  of  a  re 
morse,  the  mysterious  hinting  at  a  fault,  and  that  testamentary 
disposition  became  the  gauge  of  battle  and  controversy.  But 
to  return.  Columbus  had  in  manners  and  mien  all  that  best 
pleases,  but  his  rare  loftiness  of  soul,  that  vibrated  in  his  warm 


ON   COLUMBUS.  13 1 

and  eloquent  speech,  was  the  bait  by  which  were  taken  all  who 
had  relations  with  him.  He  was,  withal,  a  very  simple  man,  but 
the  simplicity  that  rarely  dissociates  itself  from  true  greatness 
flowed  in  him  from  a  special  fountain — from  his  singular  piety. 
One  would  give  an  imperfect  and  disfigured  portrait  of  the  great 
navigator,  who  would  be  silent  with  regard  to  his  sincere  and 
almost  mystical  piety,  his  living  faith,  which,  blending  itself 
with  genuine  spiritualism,  uplifted  to  the  height  of  mysterious 
revelations  the  offspring  of  his  own  intellect.  That  such  relig 
ious  fervor,  which  characterizes  Columbus,  was  not  borne  by 
him  from  Italy,  a  country  republican,  commercial,  greedy  of 
riches,  as  Humboldt  affirmed,  but  learned  in  Andalusia,  at  Gra 
nada,  and  in  conversation  with  the  friars  of  La  Rabida,  seems 
to  us  the  assertion  best  founded  of  the  celebrated  German 
writer.* 

Without  diffusiveness,  let  us  say  in  passing  that  to  souls  of 
the  temper  of  Columbus  certain  qualities  do  not  attach  them 
selves  ;  they  are  born  and  develop  with  the  individual,  and  con 
stitute  rather,  at  times,  the  secret  of  his  singularity  and  great 
ness.  Had  not  Humboldt  written  of  Columbus  :  '  In  effect,  all 
that  seems  to  belong  but  to  the  narrow  circle  of  the  material  in 
terests  of  life  rise  in  the  occult  mind  of  this  extraordinary  man 
to  a  nobler  sphere,  to  a  mysterious  spiritualism  '  ?f  Why,  then, 
take  back  one's  word  ? 

"  Republican  and  commercial  Italy  had  also  her  religious  or 
theological  fervor,  as  Humboldt  calls  it.  It  will  suffice,  among 
man)7  examples,  to  remember  that  in  the  country  of  Macchiavelli, 
Savonarola  arose,  and  that  from  the  hearing  of  thirty  votive 
masses  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Cola  di  Rienza,  who  professed  to  be 
His  envoy,  mounted  the  capitol  to  then  awaken  pagan  echoes 
and  fantasies  of  the  republic  and  the  tribune's  office.  Would  it 
not  be  more  likely  to  say  that  in  Columbus,  believing  like  a  man 
of  his  time,  as  a  mariner,  as  a  good  Genoese,  religious  fervor 
mounted  to  the  height  of  his  other  stupendous  qualities  ? 

"  To  affirm  that  he  acquired  it  in  Spain,  besides  being  im 
proper  to  us,  seems  dangerous  to  the  reputation  of  Columbus  ; 
the  glare  of  the  funeral  pyres,  the  fierce  san  benitos,  and  the 


*  "  Hist,  de  la  Geograph.,"  etc.,  vol.  Hi.,  p.  258,  Paris,  1837. 
f  /</.,  vol.  i.,  p.  109.  Paris,  1837. 


132  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

fearful  figures  of  the  D'Arhues  and  the  Torquemadas  might 
cross  athwart  the  reader's  mind. 

"  Columbus  was  pious  by  temperament  and  by  conviction  ; 
was  a  theologian  from  tireless  reading  of  the  Bible  and  the 
Fathers,  and  because,  as  Humboldt  well  wrote,  his  ardent  mind 
was  upborne  to  a  mysterious  spiritualism  ;  however,  as  in  him 
practical  sense  was  not  unaccompanied  by  profound  idealism,  so 
to  sublime  religious  theories  he  knew  how  to  adopt  the  minute 
practices  of  worship. 

"  On  this  it  behooves  us  to  cite  some  words  of  Fernando,  his 
son  and  historiographer  :*  '  Of  religious  things  he  was  so  observ 
ant  that,  in  fact,  in  saying  the  entire  canonical  office,  he  might 
be  deemed  a  professed  religious,  and  was  such  an  enemy  of  oaths 
that  I  never  heard  him  swear  ;  and  when  he  found  himself  most 
angry,  his  reproof  was  to  say,  "  I  give  you  to  God  ;  why  have 
you  done  or  said  this  ?"  and  if  anything  were  to  be  written,  he 
did  not  begin  without  first  writing  these  words  :  "  Jesus  cum 
Maria  sit  nobis  in  via"  ("  May  Jesus  with  Mary  be  with  us  in  the 
way").'  And  this,  we  repeat,  was  indispensable  to  the  repre 
sentation  of  the  entire  moral  physiognomy  of  Columbus,  of  which 
the  religious  spirit  constitutes  a  typically  profound  feature.  If 
to  some  it  may  seem  that  we  have  too  much  insisted  on  this,  we 
invite  them  to  kindly  join  us  in  judging  men  according  to  the 
age  they  live  in,  not  according  to  current  prejudices.  Nowadays 
greatness  and  devoutness  may,  perhaps,  seem  incompatible  ;  but 
'twas  not  so  in  the  past,  and  the  example  of  Columbus  may  stand 
for  a  hundred  other  luminous  proofs  of  it. 

'  To  us  the  having  discoursed  somewhat  at  length  of  it  seems 
also  as  a  substratum  for  what  we  are  about  to  say  of  that  affec 
tion,  which  relieved  the  enforced  idleness  of  Columbus,  and  ren 
dering  less  bitter  for  him  the  awaiting,  contributed,  indirectly, 
to  retain  him  in  Spain. 

'  History  is  silent  about  the  particulars  which  we  should  most 
wish  to  know  of  this  love  episode,  and  only  hands  down  to  us 
the  name  of  the  maiden.  She  was  called  Beatrix,  of  the  family 
Enriquez  de  Arana,  nobles  of  the  city,  and  descended  from  an 
illustrious  Biscay  lineage,  but,  as  it  appears,  no  longer  with  a 
large  rental.  Columbus  and  Beatrix  loved  one  another,  and  of 


"  Historia  dell'  Almirante,"  cap.  iii. 


UN   COLUMBUS.  133 

this  love  was  born  Fernando  Columbus,  the  historian  of  his 
father's  deeds — learned,  noble,  virtuous  hidalgo — to  whom  his 
tory  has  been  lavish  of  praise. 

"  So  we  now  come  upon,  as  is  easily  seen,  another  of  the  con 
troverted  moments  in  Columbus's  history,  a  point  most  hotly 
disputed,  now  that  they  wish  to  make  a  saint  of  Columbus,  de 
spite  the  deductions  realistically  pessimistic  of  modern  criticism. 
There  is  question  of  nothing  less  than  establishing  the  character 
of  the  bond  that  united  Columbus  to  Beatrix — was  it  concubinage 
or  marriage  ?  Of  this  last  opinion  the  Count  Roselly  de  Lorgues 
has  been,  and  very  partially,  one  of  the  hottest  and  most  dramatic 
narrators  of  the  life  of  Columbus.  His  great  error,  so  much  cast 
up  to  him  by  his  contradictors,  is  that  of  having  a  wish  to  main 
tain,  with  drawn  sword,  the  all-around  moral  perfection  of  his 
hero.  And  we  Italians  ought  to  know  how  to  be  grateful  to 
him  for  the  same,  because  holiness  and  greatness  do  not  abso 
lutely  exclude  one  another  ;  but  the  contrary  happens,  and  it  is 
beautiful  to  see  among  the  most  bitter  those  who  by  country 
and  temperament  ought  at  least  to  have  kept  themselves  in  a 
certain  reserve.  Count  Roselly  de  Lorgues,  whose  excellent 
ability  as  a  writer  in  no  way  yields  to  the  exquisite  courtesy  he 
displays  in  his  rich  and  peaceful  Parisian  home,  knew  how  to 
gather  together  and  weigh  so  many  arguments  in  favor  of  the 
lawfulness  of  the  love  of  Columbus  and  Beatrix,  as  to  make  one 
despair  of  attempting  the  work  again.  We,  who  are  not  invested 
with  the  spirit  of  the  illustrious  Frenchman,  cannot  go  down 
into  the  arena  with  him,  not  through  fear  of  being  laughed  at, 
nor  to  withhold  ourselves  from  the  defence  of  truth,  but  because 
it  frightens  us  to  think  of  pitching  headlong  into  another  con 
jectural  question.  We  shall,  however,  bring  forth  testimony 
and  considerations  gathered  here  and  there  on  the  battle-field, 
or  drawn  from  our  own  sentiments,  leaving  the  verdict  to  the 
reader. 

Before  all,  this  new  love-throb  of  Columbus,  amid  the  grave 
preoccupations  of  his  intellect  and  the  trials  of  life,  seems  to  us 
a  proof  of  the  gentleness  and  exhaustless  exuberance  of  his  soul. 
The  mind  absorbed  in  arduous  speculations  renders  unfruitful 
and  inert  all  the  other  faculties  of  the  spirit,  and  love  seldom 
knocks  where  intellect  reigns  supreme.  Only  to  a  few  privileged 


136  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

because  in  well-formed  minds,  like  that  of  Columbus,  and  in  con 
tingencies  like  to  his,  the  youth  of  a  woman  has  a  special  effect, 
a  sweetly  irresistible  charm,  and,  besides,  a  love  late  in  coming, 
or  that  is  renewed  at  the  age  less  favorable  to  love,  never  comes 
without  great  usury. 

"  How  came  Columbus  to  see  near  at  hand,  and  speak  to 
Beatrix,  and  be  heard  in  her  own  home  ;  because,  even  in  the 
worst  hypothesis,  he  must  have  been  received  willingly.  This 
is  not  known,  as  even  the  epoch  is  uncertain,  which,  however, 
in  our  opinion  may  be  believed  to  be  toward  the  end  of  his  first 
year  of  residence  in  Spain,  when  the  public  voice  had  already 
become  familiar  with  his  name,  and  some  presaged  favorably  of 
the  successes  and  the  future  of  this  singular  foreigner.  With 
such  recommendations  Columbus  addressed  himself  to  the  re 
spectable  family  of  the  young  lady  ;  saw  himself  shortly  admitted 
to  their  confidence.  The  fact  that  one  of  the  Enriquez  de  Arana, 
Beatrix's  nephew,  followed  Columbus  in  a  certain  rank  in  his 
first  voyage  of  discovery,  is  a  proof  that  the  De  Arana  believed 
and  hoped  from  the  first  in  their  guest,  and  wished  most  cordially 
to  strengthen  these  hopes  by  the  bond  of  relationship. 

'  There  is  thus  far  nothing  unlikely  in  the  ideal  reconstruction 
we  are  making  of  this  obscure  passage  in  the  life  of  Columbus, 
who,  either  that  his  growing  reputation  or  a  mutual  friend  he  met 
recommended  him  in  that  home,  has  suddenly  shown  himself 
better  than  his  reputation.  His  commanding  beauty  of  mien, 
graceful  manners,  and  jovial  conversation,  which  rose  at  times 
to  eloquence  even,  were  calculated  to  win  ;  but  in  his  favorite 
theme  his  speech  flashed  from  his  lips  ;  his  movement,  look — all 
were  in  him  those  of  a  prophet.  We  delight  to  represent  him 
to  ourselves,  then,  in  the  home  of  De  Arana,  in  the  attentive 
family  circle,  coloring  his  plan  of  transatlantic  navigation,  fore 
telling  the  wonders  of  another  sea,  another  sky,  other  regions 
vast,  fertile,  rich,  leaving  his  little  audience  dazed.  With  these 
phantasmagoric  revelations  of  another  hemisphere,  which  already 
seemed  present  realities,  to  the  assurance  of  tone  on  the  part  of 
him  who  evoked  them,  Columbus  perhaps  mingled  the  recital  of 
an  intrepid  youth  passed  upon  the  seas  in  bold  explorations,  in 
perilous  deeds  ;  and  this  part  of  his  discourse,  wherein  there  was 
so  much  to  cause  admiration  and  enthusiasm,  made  perhaps  a 
special  impression  on  the  timorous  Beatrix.  Out  of  pity  and 


ON   COLUMBUS.  137 

sympathy  for  the  intrepid  seafarer,  so  young  of  heart  despite  the 
premature  bleaching  of  his  locks,  her  mind  yielded  to  the  fas 
cination  of  this  strange  promiser  of  kingdoms,  and  a  vague  pres 
age  of  greatness  and  glory  thrilled  her. 

"  These  fancies  of  ours  with  regard  to  the  second  and  last 
love  of  Columbus  recall  to  us,  without  our  wishing  it,  the 
admirable  recital  in  which  Othello  recounts  to  the  venerable, 
grave,  and  reverend  signers  of  Venice  how  he  learned  to  love 
Desdemona,  and  was  loved  by  her  in  return.  Should  Columbus 
have  ever  needed  to  vindicate  his  power  over  the  mind  of 
Beatrix  Enriquez,  and  to  declare  by  what  arts  he  had  caught 
the  maiden  in  the  toils  of  love,  the  words  of  Othello  would  have 
supplied  him  with  a  most  touching  defence. 

"  Othello.    Most  potent,  grave,  and  reverend  seigniors, 
My  very  noble  and  approved  good  masters, 
That  I  have  ta'en  away  this  old  man's  daughter 
It  is  most  true  ;  true,  I  have  married  her  ; 
The  very  head  and  front  of  my  offending 
Hath  this  extent,  no  more.     Rude  am  I  in  my  speech, 
And  little  blessed  with  the  set  phrase  of  peace  ; 
For  since  these  arms  of  mine  had  seven  years'  pith, 
Till  now  some  nine  moons  wasted,  they  have  used 
Their  dearest  action  in  the  tented  field  ; 
And  little  of  this  great  world  can  I  speak, 
More  than  pertains  to  feats  of  broil  and  battle, 
And  therefore  little  shall  I  grace  my  cause, 
In  speaking  for  myself.     Yet,  by  your  gracious  patience, 
I  will  a  round,  unvarnished  tale  deliver 
Of  my  whole  course  of  love  ;  what  drugs,  what  charms, 
What  conjuration,  and  what  mighty  magic, 
(For  such  proceeding  I  am  charged  withal) 

I  won  his  daughter  with. 

****** 

I  do  confess  the  vices  of  my  blood, 
So  justly  to  your  grave  ears  I'll  present 
How  I  did  thrive  in  this  fair  lady's  love, 
And  she  in  mine. 

"  Duke.  Say  it,  Othello. 

"  Othello.   Her  father  loved  me  ;  oft  invited  me  ; 
Still  questioned  me  the  story  of  my  life, 
From  year  to  year  ;  the  battles,  sieges,  fortunes, 
That  I  have  passed. 

I  ran  it  through,  even  from  my  boyish  days, 
To  the  very  moment  that  he  bade  me  tell  it. 
Wherein  I  spoke  of  most  disastrous  chances, 
Of  moving  accidents,  by  flood  and  field  ; 


138  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

Of  hair-breadth  'scapes  i'  the  imminent  deadly  breach  ; 
Of  being  taken  by  the  insolent  foe, 
And  sold  to  slavery  ;  of  my  redemption  thence, 
And  portance  in  my  travel's  history, 
Wherein  of  antres  vast,  and  deserts  wild, 
Rough  quarries,  rocks,  and  hills  whose  heads  touch  heaven, 
It  was  my  hint  to  speak,  such  was  the  process  ; 
And  of  the  Cannibals  that  each  other  eat. 
The  anthropophagi,  and  men  whose  heads 
Do  grow  beneath  their  shoulders.     These  things  to  hear, 
Would  Desdemona  seriously  incline  : 
But  still  the  house  affairs  would  draw  her  thence  ; 
Which  ever  as  she  could  with  haste  dispatch, 
She'd  come  again,  and  with  a  greedy  ear. 
Devour  up  my  discourse  :  which  I  observing, 
Took  once  a  pliant  hour,  and  found  good  means 
To  draw  from  her  a  prayer  of  earnest  heart, 
That  I  would  all  my  pilgrimage  dilate, 
Whereof  by  parcels  she  had  something  heard 
But  not  intentively  :  I  did  consent  ; 
And  often  did  beguile  her  of  her  tears, 
When  I  did  speak  of  some  distressful  stroke, 
That  my  youth  suffered.     My  story  being  done 
She  gave  me  for  my  pains  a  world  of  sighs  : 
"  She  swore  :  In  faith, 'twas  strange,  'twas  passing  strange  ; 
'Twas  pitiful,  'twas  wondrous  pitiful : 
She  wished  she  had  not  heard  it  ;  yet  she  wished 
That  Heaven  had  made  her  such  a  man  ;  she  thanked  me  ; 
And  bade  me,  if  I  had  a  friend  that  loved  her, 
I  should  but  teach  him  how  to  tell  my  story. 
And  that  would  woo  her.     Upon  this  hint,  I  spake  ; 
She  loved  me  for  the  dangers  I  had  passed  ; 
And  I  loved  her,  that  she  did  pity  them. 
This  only  is  the  witchcraft  I  have  used.* 

'  It  did  not  occur  to  the  mind  of  Shakespeare  to  bring;  upon 
the  scene  the  loves  of  Columbus  and  Beatrix,  otherwise  .who 
knows  what  new  melodies  he  would  have  known  how  to  draw 
thence  ;  in  what  manner  the  threads  of  this  love  would  have 
entwined  themselves  in  his  master  hand.  The  disentangling  of 
them  proves  very  difficult  to  us,  who  are  not  aided  by  the  ex 
pedients  of  the  renowned  poet ;  to  us,  the  slaves  of  systematic 


*  Shakespeare's  "  Othello,"  act  i.,  scene  3.  I  have  not  confined  myself  strictly  to 
the  quotation  as  contained  in  Signor  Lazzaroni's  "  Cristoforo  Colombo,"  but,  on  ac 
count  of  the  aptness  of  the  quotation,  I  have  given  it  with  slightly  increased  length 
and  fulness. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  139 

prejudices  or  lawless  enthusiasm,  and  placed  in  the  straits  of 
historical  contradictions.  , 

"  Count  Roselly  transfuses,  as  we  have  said,  the  lifeblood  into 
such  a  question,  and  makes  the  debated  point  shine  with  dazzling 
light  ;  and  with  him  a  squad  of  proselytes,  quickened  by  the 
spirit  of  such  a  master,  gave  itself  to  the  ransacking  of  libraries 
and  archives  in  search  of  an  explicit  and  decisive  word,  of  an 
unquestionable  document,  which  would  put  a  seal  on  the  world 
of  shrewd,  splendid,  and  reasonable  induction  evoked  by  them. 
But  archives  and  libraries  have  thus  far  obstinately  refused  the 
so  greatly  desired  answer.  It  has  not  been  proven  that  Columbus 
legalized  his  love  for  Beatrix,  nor  has  it  been  established  peremp 
torily  that  it  was  concubinage. 

"  Oviedo,  Herrera,  Ortiz  de  Zuniga,  contemporary  and  non- 
contemporary  historians,  beset  by  those  who  impugn  the  lawful 
ness  of  this  union,  assert  nothing  pro  or  contra,  pass  over  it,  and, 
with  expressions  far  from  definite,  leave  the  field  open  to  con 
troversy. 

"  However,  the  not  affirming  is  very  different  from  denying, 
as  one  of  Roselly 's*  most  active  followers  shrewdly  observes  ; 
besides,  one  ought  when  in  doubt  keep  the  safer  course,  con 
formably  to  the  legal  axiom  :  the  doubtfulness  of  a  witness  is  to 
be  interpreted  in  favor  of  the  lawfulness  of  the  cause,  and  ret 
icence  with  regard  to  special  circumstances  is  an  indication  of 
the  publicity  and  notoriety  of  the  fact.  Even  they  who  incline 
to  believe  this  tie  unlawful  find  their  side  weak,  and  strive  to 
find  a  solution  of  the  controversy  in  the  existence  of  certain 
forms  of  marital  relations  that  we  may  call  civil,  admitted  and 
tolerated  by  the  laws  and  customs  of  that  time.  Signor  Pinilla 
treats  this  matter  very  precisely,  and  it  will  serve  to  cite  here  a 
translation  of  his  words.  He  begins  by  saying  that  the  defenders 
of  the  ecclesiastical  marriage  of  Columbus  and  Beatrix  '  have 
persisted  in  discussing  a  thing  that  does  not  belittle  or  throw 
the  least  shadow  upon  the  life,  honor,  lustre,  and  halo  of  Colum 
bus.  '  He,  however,  omits  mention  of  his  devoutness,  which  is 
the  war-horse  of  his  opponents. 

Putting  aside  thus  the  real  question,  one  understands  that 
they  do  not  succeed,  nor  will  they  ever  succeed,  in  understanding 


*  Aw.  A.  Dondero,  "  L'Onesta  di  Colombo,"  ecc.,  Genova,  1877. 


140  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

each  other  ;  but  he  (Pinilla)  goes  on  :  '  Count  Roselly  is  a  man 
of  very  great  genius  and  vast  knowledge,  but  in  this  contest  he 
forgets  what  was,  at  least  in  Spain,  the  society  of  the  fifteenth 
century  in  the  matter  of  morals,  inasmuch  as  they  relate  to 
marriage  and  to  the  constitution  of  the  family.  With  regard  to 
this  point,  let  us  hear  a  priest  of  irreproachable  morals  and  great 
knowledge.'* 

'  The  ideas  of  our  predecessors  by  no  means  resemble  our 
own,  and  they  would  surely  have  been  scandalized  and  deemed 
us  barbarians  did  they  know  them.  To  have  a  son,  even  if  not 
born  in  wedlock  or  not  recognized  by  the  law,  was  for  the 
common  weal,  and  so  the  laws  did  not  consider  him  of  condition 
inferior  to  them  that  were  born  by  a  lawful  wife  (before  the 
Church),  nor  did  they  degrade  him,  or  repute  him  unworthy  of 
public  office,  or  to  succeed  to  the  property  of  his  father.  They 
merely  required  that  the  sonship  be  certified,  and  this  was  wont 
to  be  done  by  the  sponsors  on  the  day  of  baptism,  or  publicly  in 
the  junto,  according  to  the  formalities  prescribed  by  the  statutes. 
The  father,  instead  of  being  ashamed  of  them,  treated  them  with 
regard  equal  to  that  shown  the  legitimate,  and  counted  on  them 
as  useful  members  of  domestic  society.  The  laws  imposed  upon 
mothers  the  burden  of  feeding  and  educating  both  one  and  the 
other. '  f 

"  All  this  goes  to  prove,  from  the  condition  (not  despised)  of 
the  offspring,  the  relative  morality  of  the  parents,  and  the  bond, 
though  unblessed  and  not  perfectly  legitimate,  that  united  them. 
Hear  him  (Pinilla)  further  :  '  Let  Count  Roselly  and  his  sup 
porters,  then,  see  how  Beatrix  suffered  nothing  in  her  character 
or  nobility  in  not  being  before  the  Church:}:  the  wife  of  Chris 
topher  Columbus  ;  and  that  despite  this  he  might  fitly  call,  her 
his  wife,  as  he  a  hundred  times  over  called  Fernando  his  son.' 

'  Wherefore  Count  Roselly  cannot  be  ignorant  that  concubin 
age  was  a  perfectly  legitimate  act,  not  only  because  tolerated, 
but  even  authorized  in  explicit  dispositions  of  our  forensic  legis 
lation.  It  was  not  a  vague,  indeterminate,  arbitrary  bond,  says 


*  Pinilla  here  quotes  Martinez  Marina,  "  Ensayo  historico,  critico,  sobre  1'antiqua 
legislation,"  etc.,  de  Leon  y  Castilla,  sez.  206. 

f  Pinilla,  "  Colon  en  Espafia,"  cap.  viii. 

J  The  wife  who  received  the  blessing  was  veiled,  and  observed  all  the  rites  of  the 
Church. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  14! 

the  above-quoted  author,  but  was  founded  in  a  contract  of  friend 
ship  and  companionship,  the  principal  conditions  of  which  were 
permanency  and  fidelity.  In  our  juridical  history,  according  to 
the  statutes  and  customs,  three  kinds  of  bond  between  man  and 
woman  were  known  and  authorized  by  law  :  marriage  in  facie 
€cclesi<z  (solemnized  during  mass),  "  the  marriage  by  promise, 
and  concubinage.  Whether  the  marriage  of  the  Genoese  navi 
gator  and  Beatrix  Enriquez  was  of  this  last  class,  or  was  a  mar- 
riage  by  promise — i.e.,  a  marriage  of  conscience — we  shall  not 
stop  to  discuss."  '  The  words  of  the  will  lend  themselves  to  one 
and  the  other  opinion.  However,  whichsoever  of  the  two  kinds 
of  union  was  that  of  which  Don  Fernando  was  the  fruit,  it  does 
not  lessen  the  merit,  the  honorableness,  the  fame  or  good  name 
of  Christopher  Columbus  ;  none  of  them  would  belittle  his  glory, 
nor  the  nobleness  of  Beatrix  Enriquez,  nor  the  estimation,  pre 
eminence,  and  esteem  which  his  son  Fernando  enjoyed  and  de 
served."  '  * 

NOTE. — This  view  of  the  subject  is  confirmed  by  Leonard  Shelford,  of  the  Middle 
Temple,  Barrister  at  Law,  in  his  able  work  on  the  "  Law  of  Marriage  and  Divorce," 
already  quoted,  in  which  he  traces  this  form  of  marriage  to  the  civil  law,  and  after 
speaking  of  its  qualities  of  permanency  and  fidelity,  says:  "Those  characters  show 
how  widely  mistaken  we  should  be  if  we  annexed  the  idea  of  immodesty  or  contempt 
to  the  name  of  concubine  among  the  ancients,  as  we  do  in  modern  times"  (pp.  10  ;  33 
Law  Library,  p.  31).  In  a  foot-note  of  that  work  is  given  an  extract  from  Gibbon's 
History,  vol.  v.,  pp.  399,400,  in  which  this  form  of  marriage  as  existing  among 
the  Romans  is  described,  and  it  is  stated  that  it  prevailed  from  the  age  of  Augus 
tus  to  the  tenth  century  both  in  the  West  and  the  East,  and  states  "  that  this  com 
panionship  was  often  preferred  to  the  pomp  and  insolence  of  a  noble  matron.''  The 
Christian  Church  struggled  to  abolish  this  form  of  marriage,  but  did  not  wholly  suc 
ceed  until  the  enactments  of  the  Council  of  Trent  from  1545  to  1563.  It  must  not  be 
supposed,  however,  that  the  author  of  Lazzaroni's  work,  or  any  of  the  advocates  of 
the  regularity  and  legitimacy  of  the  marriage  of  Columbus  and  Beatrix,  classify  their 
marriage  under  this  head.  On  the  contrary,  they  contend  that  the  marriage  of  Colum 
bus  and  Beatrix  belonged  to  that  class  of  marriages  which  is  denominated  as  mar 
riage  in  facie  ecclesia-.  The  trend  of  this  argument  in  Lazzaroni's  quoted  authorities 
is  simply  that  the  alliance  of  Columbus  and  Beatrix  at  worst  was  lawful,  customary  and 
honorable.  But  with  Columbus's  firm  adherence  to  the  strictest  methods  of  the 
Church,  no  marriage  less  than  marriage  in  facie  ecclesia  would  ever  have  satisfied 
him.  Beatrix  must  have  been  no  less  rigid  in  so  sacred  a  rite. 

'  In  all  this  defence  they  very  properly  are  silent  concerning 
that  upon  which  their  adversaries  insist — namely,  the  piety  of 
Columbus.  This,  shouted  from  one  side  of  the  field,  suffices  to 


*  Pinilla,  above  cited. 


142  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

dismount  the  batteries  on  the  other.  Notwithstanding  this, 
Count  Roselly  and  his  companions  on  their  part  do  not  decline 
the  combat  upon  any  field  ;  putting  aside  the  holy  water  stoup 
and  aspersorium,  all  arms  are  good  even  for  them,  to  repel  the 
assault. 

' '  Apropos,  it  would  be  useful  and  pleasant  to  put  side  by  side 
some  of  the  reasons  of  Pinilla  and  of  the  others  of  his  school,  and 
those  taken  from  every  department  of  knowledge  by  the  lawyer 
Dondero,  who,  with  all  the  resources  of  his  profession,  combines 
much  critical  acumen,  culture,  and  great  convincing  powers. 
But  besides  going  to  too  great  length,  it  would  prove  difficult  to 
choose  and  to  separate,  considering  the  copiousness  and  the  con 
catenation  of  his  arguments. 

"  He  proves,  and  to  us  it  seems  without  doubt,  that  none  of 
the  contemporary  or  quasi-contemporary  historians  of  Columbus 
explicitly  declare  against  the  legitimacy  of  his  union  with  Beatrix 
Enriquez,  and  among  the  conjectural  and  positive  proofs  in  favor 
of  the  same  produces  some  historical  testimonies  of  great 
weight.  These  are,  it  is  true,  of  dates  a  hundred  years  or  more 
subsequent  to  the  times  of  the  admiral,  but  the  less  credence 
which  they  would  seem  on  that  account  to  deserve  is  compen 
sated  for  by  the  authority  and  the  competence  of  the  writers. 
It  is,  then,  a  '  principle  of  truth,'  as  the  same  Dondero  writes,* 
'  and  every-day  experience  confirms  it,  that  a  just  cause  acquires 
steadily,  as  time  goes  on,  new  arguments  and  data,  or  helps  that 
demonstrate  its  perfect  justness  ;  whereas,  on  the  contrary,  a 
false  cause,  although  masked  at  first  under  some  appearance  of 
truth,  loses  ground  with  the  lapse  of  time,  just  as  happens  with 
genuine  and  counterfeit  money.'  So  the  union  of  Colum 
bus  and  Beatrix  since  it  began  to  be  considered  and  discussed 
seems  ever  to  put  on  a  better  face.  The  following  testimonies 
could  not  be  more  favorable.  One  is  of  the  Jesuit  Alphoriso 
Garcia,  who  died  rector  of  the  College  of  Ossuna,  in  1618,  and 
who  consequently  lived  at  the  epoch  of  the  famous  litigation  for 
the  succession  to  the  entailed  estates  of  Christopher  Columbus, 
and  who  ought  therefore  to  be  better  informed  than  any  other  of 
that  which  occurred  in  it,  and  of  the  status  of  Columbus  and  his 
sons. 


*  "  L'Onesta  di  Colombo,"  ecc.,  p.   109. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  143 

"  '  Don  Christopher  Columbus,'  he  writes,  '  first  conqueror 
and  discoverer  of  the  Indies,  was  High  Admiral  of  the  same, 
Duke  of  Veragua,  and  Marquis  of  Jamaica.  He  married  twice  : 
first  in  Portugal,  where  he  lived  in  his  youth,  Donna  Philippa 
Moniz  de  Perestrello,  by  whom  he  had  his  elder  son,  Don  Diego  ; 
secondly,  he  married  in  Cordova,  where  he  resided  six  years,  a 
lady  of  that  city  called  Donna  Beatrix  Enriquez  de  Arana,  of  the 
lineage  of  the  nobles  of  this  city,  in  the  province  of  Biscay,  and 
by  her  had  Don  Fernando  Colombo,  a  chevalier  of  great  under 
standing,  valor,  virtue,  and  literary  attainments,  after  he  left 
the  service  of  the  Prince  Don  Juan,  whose  page  he  was.'* 

' '  Not  less  conclusive  is  this  other  testimony  drawn  from  the 
history  of  Father  Pietro  Simon  di  Parillas,  printed  at  Cuenca  in 
the  year  1627,  and  dedicated  to  Philip  IV.,  which  is  found  in  the 
library  of  Valencia. 

"  In  the  fourteenth  chapter  is  the  following  :  '  Don  Christopher 
Columbus  came  to  Portugal,  where  he  married,  firstly,  Donna 
Philippa  Moniz  de  Perestrello,  by  whom  he  had  Don  Diego 
Colombo.  Left  a  widower,  he  married  a  second  time,  in  the 
city  of  Cordova,  Donna  Beatrix  Enriquez,  a  native  of  that  city, 
who  gave  birth  to  Don  Fernando  Colombo,  who  made  himself 
so  famous  by  his  virtue  as  well  as  by  his  erudition.  *f  The  just- 
quoted  testimony,  which,  though  being  that  of  sixteenth-century 
historians,  might  not  merit  too  much  credence,  yet  it  assumes 
from  circumstances  a  special  value.  Let  it  be  borne  in  mind 
that  it  was  published  during  the  celebrated  litigation  of  the 
above-mentioned  succession,  which,  reviving  the  memory  of  the 
glorious  discoverer,  caused  the  acts  and  the  words  and  all  the 
events,  public  and  private,  of  his  life  to  be  by  all  spoken  of  and 
discussed  ;  genealogical  trees  were  prepared,  relationships  and 
whatever  else  could  be  connected  with  the  burning  question  of 
legitimate  descent  were  examined.  But  let  the  reader  make 
what  account  of  it  he  may.  We  ourselves  are  merely  readers  in 
this  controversy,  and  we  prefer  not  to  go  beyond  the  limits  of  a 
simple  statement. 

*  "  There  exists  in  the  Library  of  the  Royal  Historical  Academy  of  Madrid,  chapter 
xxxviii.,  a  manuscript  entitled  'General  History  of  the  very  Illustrious  and  Loyal 
City  of  Cordova,  and  of  its  Noblest  Families,'  by  Dr.  Andre  de  Morales  (this  title  is 
in  Spanish),  and  which  treats  of  the  lineage  and  descent  of  the  Admiral  Christopher 
Columbus.  See  Dondero,  pp.  iii.,  in,  112." 

f  Dondero,  loc.  «'/.,  pp.  113,  114. 


144  OLD   AND    NEW 

"  Among  the  many  things  that  we  have  happened  to  read 
apropos  of  this  matter,  we  shall  never  forget  a  phrase  that  escaped 
Columbus,  in  one  of  those  moments  in  which  the  fulness  of  his 
sorrow  and  bitterness  encumbered  his  style.  Returning  from 
his  third  voyage  to  the  new  world,  his  soul  full  of  anguish,  in 
irons,  almost  ready  to  succumb  under  the  weight  of  so  many 
misfortunes,  persecutions,  and  accusations,  worse  than  which 
they  would  not  be  able  to  invent  in  hell,  he  drafts  a  letter  to 
influential  and  friendly  persons,  as  it  would  appear,  who  still 
remained  to  him  at  the  court.  Having  called  to  mind  the  years 
of  his  trying  and  loyal  service,  their  stupendous  results  and  un 
worthy  recompense,  he  touches  upon  the  hardest  sacrifice  that 
can  be  demanded  of  the  human  heart — to  wit,  that  of  husband 
and  father  at  the  same  time,  and  adds  that  to  serve  Spain,  or 
rather  their  Highnesses,  he  had  forsaken  wife  and  children,  and 
had  never  lived  for  them  ;  or,  in  other  words,  besides  fatherly 
affection  and  domestic  joys,  he  had  sacrificed  their  most  sacred 
interests  to  those  of  Spain  ('  Y  deje  muyer  y  hijos  que  jamas  vi 
por  ellos  ').* 

'  Wife  ?  Not  certainly  Donna  Philippa  Moniz  de  Peres- 
trello,  who  had  died  in  Portugal  twenty  years  before.  Sons  ? 
Not  certainly  Diego,  the  only  one  born  to  him  by  his  first  wife. 
How  is  it  possible  not  to  recognize  in  these  expressions  Beatrix 
Enriquez  and  his  sons  Diego  and  Fernando  ?  True,  muyer,  in 
Castilian,  means  also  woman  simply  ;  but  that  it  would  have 
been  used  by  Columbus  in  that  sense  seems  so  absurd  as  not  to 
merit  confutation.  In  fine,  whatever  may  be  the  attenuating 
circumstances  taken  from  the  different  kinds  of  marital  union 
tolerated  then  and  even  recognized  by  the  laws,  which  were 
unable  to  prevent  them,  considering  the  great  relaxation  of 
morals,  it  would  have  been,  it  seems  to  us,  a  very  bad  recom 
mendation  in  a  proud  and  bigoted  court  to  appeal  to  a  love-tie 
unblessed  and  not  really  legitimate.  It  will  be,  perhaps,  difficult 
to  persuade  the  contrary  of  all  that  to  good  sense,  even  though 


"  The  autograph  exists  in  the  archives  of  the  Duke  of  Veragua,  and  .s  a  fragment  of 
a  letter  in  bad  copy,  and  for  that  some  give  little  weight  to  its  expressions,  as  if 
Columbus  would  lend  himself  to  the  invention  and  coloring  of  lies  in  the  drafts  of 
his  letters  !  It  begins,  '  Gentlemen  ;'  but  it  is  not  known  to  what  persons  in  author 
ity  it  may  have  been  addressed.  It  was  published  by  Navarrete,  with  Diploma  II., 
Document  87,  Torre,  '  Writings  of  Columbus/  p.  293." 


ON   COLUMBUS.  145 

it  appear  refined  gold  to  criticism.  To  leave  his  woman  and 
young  sons  is  equivalent,  even  among  us,  to  leaving  one's  own 
lawful  wife  and  children,  as  also  the  actual  usage  in  speech  is 
that  where  to  woman  is  added  the  possessives,  mine,  thine,  his, 
it  is  understood  to  mean  the  lawful  wife. 

14  And  of  this  muyer,  his  abandonment  of  whom,  in  order  to  ex 
pose  himself  to  the  dangers  and  to  the  hardships  of  the  boldest 
of  marine  explorations,  he  cast  up  to  Spain  and  to  the  court,  he 
writes  with  tenderness  to  Diego,  his  firstborn,  during  one  of  his 
many  periods  of  absence  :  '  Let  Beatrix  Enriquez  be  recom 
mended  to  thee  by  the  love  of  me,  absent  from  thee,  and  regard 
her  as  thy  mother  ;  let  her  have  from  thee  ten  thousand  mara- 
vedis  yearly  besides  those  which  she  already  holds  from  the 
butchers'  shops  of  Cordova.'  These  words,  full  of  respect  and 
affection,  were  found  in  an  ancient  manuscript  by  Father  Mar- 
cellino  da  Civezza,  General  Historiographer  of  the  Franciscan 
Order,  and  another  champion  of  the  morality  of  Columbus.* 
You  would  say  that  these  reappear  to  ratify,  after  about  three 
hundred  years,  the  genuine  and  specific  meaning  given  by 
Columbus  to  the  word  muyer  in  the  above  extract,  and  to  warn  us 
that  personal  and  epistolary  accounts,  difect  or  indirect,  must  ex 
ist,  covering  the  period  of  his  public  life,  between  the  admiral  and 
Beatrix  Enriquez,  though  history  affords  no  indication  of  them. 
The  words  of  this  letter  throw  a  new  ray  of  light  on  a  passage 
in  the  will  of  the  great  discoverer,  which  has  and  will  be  always 
a  stumbling-block,  and  as  the  battering-ram  of  those  who  impugn 
the  lawfulness  of  his  second  marriage. 

"  In  this  last  will,  drawn  up  by  him  in  Segovia,  August  25th, 
1505,  and  probated  in  Valladolid,  March  I9th,  1506  (the  eve  of 
his  death),  the  admiral  returns  to  recommend  his  Beatrix  to  his 
firstborn,  Diego. 

"  Having  enjoined  upon  him  to  pay  certain  debts,  of  which  he 


*  "  The  manuscript  oeiongs  to  the  Collection  Vargas  Ponce,  of  the  Library  of  the 
Royal  Historical  Academy  of  Madrid,  in  two  volumes,  with  the  title  '  Columbus  and 
his  Sons,  Memorandum  of  Documents.'  Its  discoverer  maintains  that  the  document 
in  question  is  the  authentic  copy  of  an  autograph  letter  of  Christopher  Columbus, 
under  date.  City  of  Burgos,  April  23d,  1497,  which  contains  certain  other  dispositions 
and  reminders  for  Don  Diego,  and  is  referable,  according  to  the  date,  to  the  year 
passed  by  Columbus  in  Spain  between  his  second  and  third  voyages  to  the  New- 
World." 


146  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

will  find  the  memorandum  attached,  he  goes  on  :  '  And  I  order 
him  that  he  have  care  of  Beatrix  Enriquez,  mother  of  Don  Fer 
nando,  my  son  ;  that  he  see  that  she  may  be  able  to  live  becom 
ingly,  as  one  to  whom  I  owe  so  much.  And  let  this  be  for  the 
unburdening  of  my  conscience,  as  this  weighs  heavily  on  my 
heart.  The  reason  of  this  it  is  not  allowed  to  write  here.'  * 

"  It  is  a  sad  puzzle,  nor  is  it  easy  to  solve  it.  This  perplexity 
of  broken  and  ambiguous  phrases,  lending  themselves  to  so  many 
interpretations,  is  not  unique  in  history.  '  I  pass  into  eternity, 
and  I  know  why,'  the  dying  Clement  XIV.  said  ;  nothing  more 
was  required  to  believe  him  the  victim  of  poison,  and  that  it  was 
administered  to  him  by  the  Jesuits.  How  much  wrangling  has 
there  not  been  and  now  is  among  interpreters  upon  the  first  canto 
of  the  '  Divina  Commedia  '  !  A  like  bequest  in  the  context  of  a 
legal  document,  which  prescribes  the  payment  of  certain  pecu 
niary  debts,  seems  prima  facie  to  refer  to  property  interests. 

'  We  point  out  in  another  chapter  the  persistent  and  serious 
anxiety  of  Christopher  Columbus,  already  great  and  renowned  ; 
from  all  his  glorious  labors,  there  was  not  left  to  him,  as  he 
wrote  the  king,  a  roof  to  cover  him  ;  and  there  was  even  want 
ing  to  him  wherewith  to  pay  his  host  and  innkeeper.  These 
were  not  certainly  the  greatness  and  comforts  implicitly  prom 
ised  by  him  to  the  Enriquez  de  Arana,  who  trustingly  confided  to 
him,  a  poor  and  obscure  man,  their  daughter,  and — who  knows  ? — 
perhaps  a  dower,  which  he  was  to  have  returned  to  them  a  hun 
dred-fold.  And  to  what  were  reduced  these  seducing  phantasms 
of  prosperity  and  glory,  so  dear  to  the  heart  of  woman,  that  he 
had  awakened  in  his  Beatrix  ?  Into  persecution  and  poverty. 
Columbus,  returned  gloriously  from  his  first  voyage,  had  per 
haps  scarcely  time,  amid  official  receptions  and  the  preparations 
for  the  second  expedition  (from  March  I5th  until  September 
25th,  1493),  to  see  again  his  Beatrix,  and  share  with  her  and 
family  the  first  moral  fruits  of  his  wonderful  discovery.  He  had 
already  done  so  much  for  them,  that  the  De  Arana  and  the  wife 
had  reason  to  be  flattered  in  his  naming,  as  his  own  lieutenant  in 
that  new  world  just  discovered,  Diego  de  Arana. 

'  In  the  embryonic  fortress  which  first  arose  upon  the  virgin 
shores  of  Hispaniola,  at  the  head  of  the  first  nucleus  of  a  Euro- 


*  Navarrete,  Col.  Dipl.,  II.,  doc.  158  ;   Torre,  "  Scritti  di  Colombo,"  p.  369. 


ON   COLUMBUS. 

pean  colony  planted  in  the  new  world,  the  young  Diego  of  the 
De  Arana  remained  champion  and  guardian  of  the  new  posses 
sions,  with  full  powers.  Such  a  beautiful  prelude  was  to  be  fol 
lowed  by  a  sad  catastrophe  ;  and  when,  after  the  second  arrival 
of  the  admiral  in  the  island,  there  came  to  Spain  the  dreadful 
news  of  the  destroyed  fortress  and  butchered  garrison,  the  grief, 
the  sorrow,  and  the  fury  of  the  Arana  family  can  well  be  imag 
ined.  Was  it  not  improvidence  to  abandon  there,  upon  those 
unknown  shores,  a  prey  to  faithless  savages,  amid  the  unwonted 
temptations  of  climate  and  demoralizing  manners,  a  handful  of 
men  ill  defended  within  and  from  without  ?  and  upon  Columbus 
the  tremendous  responsibility  of  it  fell.  As  the  reader  can  see, 
AVC  are  walking  in  a  path  hitherto  untrod,  in  the  hope  of  succeed 
ing,  if  not  in  solving,  the  enigma  of  the  will — at  least,  in  simplify 
ing  it.  Meanwhile,  it  appears  to  us  that  to  make  heavier  still 
the  heart  of  that  glorious  testator,  the  remembrance  of  the 
slaughter  of  Diego  de  Arana,  and  the  sad  consequences  that 
thence  followed  for  the  sister,  conspired. 

' '  A  feud,  after  the  style  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  like  to  Cor 
dovan  fierceness,  would  have  sprung  up  among  the  De  Arana 
against  him  who,  in  exchange  for  so  many  hopes,  had  brought 
back  to  them  not  even  the  body  of  their  relative,  done  to  death 
by  the  hands  of  savages  !  The  effects  of  this  feud  could  well 
interpose  between  Beatrix  and  Columbus  one  of  those  barriers 
which  are  accustomed  to  arise  between  two  loves,  two  allegi 
ances,  by  reason  of  mediaeval  party  strife  and  family  rancor. 
Behold,  in  our  opinion,  the  probable  cause  of  certain  reticences 
in  the  admiral's  writings,  and  of  that  strange  silence  observed 
with  regard  to  his  marital  relations  with  Donna  Beatrix  Enriquez. 

'  But  we  have  only  made  conjectures,  desiring  to  leave  to  the 
kind  reader  the  verdict,  and  to  deduce  thence  the  consequences. 
Resuming,  with  regard  to  the  ambiguous  sense  that  involves  the 
testamentary  provisions  of  the  dying  man,  we  believe  that  noth 
ing  can  be  definitively  asserted  that  would  exclude  more  or  less 
specious  objections  on  one  side  or  the  other. 

'  Without  arraying  ourselves  with  those  who  would  represent 
Columbus  as  impeccable,  although  forced  in  the  case  by  a  hun 
dred  favorable  appearances  to  believe  him  such,  we  advise  the 
not  trusting  too  much  for  his  condemnation  to  the  ambiguous- 
ness  of  the  wording  of  his  will.  Given  that  as  a  man  he  might 


148  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

have  sinned,  his  devout  and  honorable 'character,  but,  above  all, 
his  extraordinary  piety,  would  have  led  him,  it  appears  to  us,  to 
make  timely  atonement  for  his  fault  rather  than  to  wait  to  repent 
him  of  it  till  the  last  moment  of  his  life.  If  he  did  not  believe  it 
such,  nor  deem  that  he  ought  to  make  amends  for  it  in  twenty 
years,  to  what  purpose  express  sorrow  for  it  then,  in  a  public 
act,  to  the  disgrace  of  his  own  sons  and  the  scandal  of  all  who 
had  perhaps  forgotten  it  or  never  known  it,  and  to  the  discredit 
of  the  beloved  woman  he  left  behind,  and  of  him  who  was  born 
of  her  ?  To  what  purpose,  we  say,  such  ill-advised,  useless, 
cruel  publicity  ?  If  upon  this  enigmatical  testamentary  docu 
ment,  by  which  the  impugners  of  the  legitimacy  of  the  second 
marriage  of  Columbus  strengthen  themselves,  the  question 
were  proposed  to  the  courts,  it  would  not  be  a  lost  cause. ' ' 

The  brilliant  and  captivating  effect  with  which  Lazzaroni  has 
introduced  those  quoted  passages  from  Shakespeare's  "  Othello," 
to  show  how  Columbus  may  have  wooed  and  won  Beatrix,  from 
the  example  of  the  Moor  winning  the  love  of  Desdemona  and 
marrying  her,  has  suggested  to  me  the  introduction  here  of 
some  passages  from  a  historical  novel,  entitled  "  Columbus  and 
Beatrix,"  by  Constance  Goddard  Du  Bois,  a  niece  of  Mrs. 
Admiral  Dahlgren,  to  whom  she  has  dedicated  her  book.  This 
is  a  practical  demonstration  of  the  parallel  between  the  marriages 
of  Othello  to  Desdemona  and  of  Columbus  to  Beatrix.  But, 
first  of  all,  the  author  tells  us,  in  her  preface,  in  graceful  yet 
forcible  language,  what  she  thinks  of  the  denial  of  the  marriage 
of  Columbus  and  Beatrix.  Her  judgment  is  the  natural,  instinc 
tive,  and  almost  inspired  decree  of  refined  and  cultured  woman 
hood  that  Columbus  and  Beatrix  were  innocent — that  they  were 
man  and  wife. 

The  object  of  this  work  is  to  attempt  the  reparation  of  an 
injustice  which  history  has  done  to  a  noble  and  long-suffering 
woman.  Beatrix  Enriquez  has  been  denied  her  lawful  position 
as  the  wife  of  Columbus  by  writers  from  Humboldt  and  Irving 
to  the  tourist,  who  publishes  his  impressions  of  a  few  weeks'  so 
journ  in  Spain  ;  and  the  illicit  connection  of  Columbus  with  a 
beautiful  lady  of  Cordova  has  been  expatiated  upon  in  every 
tone  of  impartial  narrative  and  jesting  allusion.  The  slander  is, 
however,  of  modern  origin.  Although  Columbus  was  loaded 
with  calumny  during  his  lifetime,  no  one  dreamed  of  denying  his 


ON   COLUMBUS.  149 

connection  by  marriage  with  the  noble  house  01  Arana,  or  of 
questioning  the  legitimacy  of  his  son  Fernando. 

"  It  was  not  till  an  obscure  lawyer  at  a  later  time  raised  a  legal 
quibble  about  the  matter,  for  the  purpose  of  gaining  a  suit  for  a 
client,  that  the  idea  was  suggested  ;  and  that  it  was  repugnant  to 
the  facts  of  history  is  evident,  since  the  unscrupulous  attorney  lost 
his  case  and  the  affair  remained  forgotten  until  1805.  Napione, 
followed  by  Spotorno  and  Navarrete,  revived  the  unwarranted 
assumption  with  eagerness,  as  throwing  a  new  light  upon  the 
character  of  Columbus. 

'  The  only  apparent  support  to  this  theory  of  an  illicit  con 
nection  is  the  fact  that  Columbus  in  his  will  mentions  Beatrix 
Enriquez  by  name,  without  adding  the  title  of  wife,  and  adds 
that  in  recommending  her  to  the  care  of  his  heir  he  eases  his 
conscience,  since  he  is  under  great  obligation  to  her,  '  the  reason 
of  which,'  as  he  says,  '  it  is  not  expedient  to  mention  here.' 

"  Out  of  this  weak  material  the  web  of  falsehood  has  been 
spun.  Without  following  the  discussion  in  its  full  extent,  the 
argument  of  common  sense  may  be  applied  in  Beatrix's  justifica 
tion.  It  is  known  that  her  two  brothers  (some  say  a  nephew 
and  a  brother)  sailed  with  Columbus  upon  two  of  his  voyages  in 
a  distinguished  position  of  trust  under  the  admiral.  Would  the 
sons  of  a  noble  house  thus  condone  their  sister's  dishonor  ? 

"  The  mystery  involved  in  Columbus's  allusion  to  Beatrix, 
without  giving  her  the  title  of  wife,  is  supplemented  by  the 
singular  fact  that  in  the  most  important  crises  of  his  life  she  was 
absent  from  his  side  or  unmentioned.  The  theory,  upon  which 
the  following  story  is  constructed,  offers  an  explanation  which  is 
maintained  to  be  more  deserving  of  credence  than  that  of 
Spotorno,  since  it  fits  every  subsequent  event  in  the  life  of 
Columbus  with  the  congruity  of  a  historical  fact.  It  is  not  the 
reputation  of  Columbus  that  is  at  stake.  History,  while  accept 
ing  his  offence,  has  readily  excused  it — '  He  was  a  man  of  his 
times,'  forsooth;  but  the  beautiful  young  Beatrix  Enriquez, 
whose  life,  linked  to  his,  was  undoubtedly  a  sad  one,  should  be 
delivered  from  unmerited  reproach  ;  and  the  open-minded  student 
of  history,  as  well  as  the  enthusiastic  champion  of  slandered  inno 
cence,  should  unite  in  rendering  a  tardy  justice  to  her  memory." 

As  was  to  have  been  expected,  the  authoress  relates  how 
Columbus  had  been  introduced  to  the  family  of  the  Aranas  by 


150  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

Geraldini.  The  wealth  of  the  family  had  been  squandered  by 
its  present  head,  the  father  of  Beatrix,  in  vain  efforts  to  acquire 
immense  wealth  by  the  discovery  of  the  philosopher's  stone. 
Columbus  had  met  Beatrix,  both  in  prayer,  before  altar  and 
shrines  of  the  Cathedral  of  Cordova.  It  was  well  known  in  the 
city  that  he  had  a  petition  to  the  sovereigns  which  had  long 
been  deferred.  Don  Fernando  Enriquez  had  been  prostrated 
with  grief  at  the  sudden  death  of  an  aged  and  wealthy  suitor  for 
the  hand  of  Beatrix,  and  by  the  rejection  of  another  by  the 
maiden.  Beatrix  lived  a  secluded  life,  but  she  had  learned  to 
venerate  the  devout  and  prayerful  stranger  whom  she  saw  so 
often  in  the  cathedral,  and  concerning  whose  mysterious  aspira 
tions  so  many  conjectures  were  indulged  in.  Geraldini  had 
interested,  but  had  failed  to  convince  his  friends  of  the  truth  of 
Columbus's  theories.  Columbus  informs  the  careworn  father, 
this  dreamer  after  the  philosopher's  stone,  through  his  young 
son,  Don  Pedro,  to  whom  he  had  been  introduced  by  Geraldini, 
of  his  own  skill.  '  Will  you  not  tell  him  for  me  that  Cristoval 
Colon,  a  Genoese,  desires  to  make  his  acquaintance  ?  I  have  no 
intimate  knowledge  of  alchemy,  yet  I  am  versed  in  astrology  as 
well  as  cosmography  and  astronomy,  and  I  could  tell  him  much 
that  he  would  be  glad  to  hear.'  An  interview  takes  place  be 
tween  the  aged  father  of  Beatrix  and  Columbus,  in  which  the 
former  eagerly  asks,  '  Have  you  found  it  ?  Do  you  know,  and 
will  you  impart  the  secret  of  the  philosopher's  stone  ? ' 

"  Colon  shook  his  head.  '  I  hardly  believe  that  nature  will 
yield  that  secret  to  our  most  ardent  search, '  he  answered  ;  '  but 
I  know  a  greater  one,  from  which  will  flow  results  still  more 
surprising.  After  years  of  research  as  laborious  as  your  own, 
but  guided  by  divine  inspiration,  I  have  reached  with  absolute 
certainty  the  conclusion  that  across  the  western  sea  there  lies  a 
path,  easy  enough  to  the  adventurous  mariner,  which  leads  direct 
to  Manghay  and  Cathay,  the  kingdoms  of  the  Khan,  and  the  land 
of  Zipanga,  famous  for  its  wealth  of  gold  and  precious  stones. ' 

'  I  have  heard  of  that,'  said  Enriquez,  impatiently.  '  Rodrigo 
and  Geraldini  have  wearied  me  with  this  talk  of  yours  about 
cities  of  gold  and  temples  of  ivory.  If  the  king  grants  your 
petition  for  ships  and  men,  and  you  go  forth  and  possess  it  in 
his  name,  what  is  that  to  me?  Will  it  further  my  discovr-v, 
which  is  of  greater  worth  to  me  than  the  realms  of  the  Khi 


ON   COLUMBUS. 

"  Yes,'  answered  Colon,  '  I  care  little  for  the  wealth  I  shall 
win,  except  for  the  purpose  to  which  I  shall  apply  it — the  pur 
chase  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  from  the  hands  of  the  infidels.  This 
lies  as  near  my  heart  as  your  precious  discovery  does  to  yours  ; 
but  I  hope  to  possess  more  than  enough  to  equip  an  army  to 
ransom  the  Sepulchre  at  the  highest  price  the  Soldan  may  put 
upon  it.  The  surplus  shall  overflow  to  meet  every  demand  of 
duty  and  friendship — to  you  first,  if  close  relationship  shall  war 
rant  it.  Senor  Don  Enriquez,  I  ask  you  to  bestow  upon  me  your 
daughter  Beatrix  in  marriage.' 

"  Enriquez  was  astonished  beyond  measure.  His  mind  quickly 
reviewed  the  words  of  the  Italian,  and  all  that  he  had  heard  of 
him  and  of  his  pretensions  since  his  coming  to  Cordova.  He 
was  disposed  to  believe  in  his  theory,  and  he  was  impressed,  as 
the  scholarly  Geraldini  had  been,  with  the  grandeur  of  his  views. 
The  proposed  connection  with  himself  placed  the  matter  in  a 
new  light.  It  was  through  his  daughter's  marriage  alone  that 
Enriquez  had  hopes  of  acquiring  the  fortune  he  coveted.  Since 
Don  Francisco's  death  he  had  looked  in  vain  for  the  suitor  who 
should  unite  wealth  and  generosity  with  a  sympathy  for  the 
views  and  pursuits  of  the  alchemist.  Garcia  de  Silva  would 
inherit  a  competence  which  his  extravagant  tastes  would  spend 
on  every  object  rather  than  the  purchase  of  chemicals  and  costly 
books  for  his  father-in-law.  Placing  himself  first,  as  he  always 
did  in  such  considerations,  Enriquez  did  not  consult  the  probable 
wishes  of  his  daughter,  or  consider  that  the  younger  man  would 
be  more  likely  to  win  her  heart. 

"  '  I  will  not  refuse  you,  Sefior  Colon,'  he  said  ;  '  neither  can 
I  give  you  much  encouragement.  Our  family  is  one  of  the  most 
:ancient  in  Cordova.  My  sons  would  look  higher  for  a  husband 
for  their  sister,  but  other  things  than  rank  are  to  be  considered. 
Wealth  is  a  necessity,  a  generous  spirit,  such  as  you  have  already 
manifested,  being  combined  with  the  power  to  give,  for  I  will 
not  deny  that  my  fortune  has  been  spent,  worthily  but  as  yet  in 
vain,  and  I  need  money.  Fill  my  hands  with  the  golden  treasures 
you  promise,  and  my  daughter  shall  be  yours.' 

"  Colon  smiled  with  a  lofty  pity  for  his  impatient  greed. 
'  Years  as  well  as  floods  may  roll  between  me  and  the  distant 
shore,  which  I  behold  with  the  eye  of  faith,'  he  said.  '  The 
maiden  would  not  wait  for  me.  A  younger  suitor  would  claim 


I$2  OLD  AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

her.  You  would  part  us,  who  are  destined  for  each  other,  and 
to  what  purpose,  and  to  what  purpose  ?  Only  to  oppose  your 
self  to  the  greatest  good  that  fortune  has  ever  offered  to  you — 
connection  with  the  discoverer  of  more  than  the  philosopher's 
stone — one  whose  name,  as  the  instrument  of  Heaven,  is  to 
resound  through  all  the  centuries  to  the  utmost  limit  of  time.' ' 

Columbus  meets  Beatrix  under  the  friendly  invitation  of  her 
father  to  visit  the  Enriquez  mansion  as  a  friend  who  is  always 
welcome.  She  stands  in  awe  of  him,  while  venerating  him. 
Even  a  suspicion,  a  temporary  suspicion  passes  through  her 
mind  that  he  might  have  been  the  cause  of  the  death  of  Don 
Francisco  Hernandez  ;  but  her  respect,  her  growing  interest  in 
the  stranger,  who  had  now  become  a  friend  of  her  family,  and 
her  sympathy  in  his  deep  religious  sentiments  and  in  his  vast 
aspirations,  enable  her  to  cast  it  off. 

'  Why  did  you  flee  from  me  ? '  asked  Colon,  in  a  tone  of 
tender  reproach,  as  he  joined  her. 

'  I  do  not  know,'  answered  Beatrix,  her  heart  beating 
quickly.  '  It  seemed  to  me  that  you  were  changed.  In  the 
cathedral  I  was  not  afraid,  though  I  saw  you  for  the  first  time. 
It  must  be  that  I  feel  my  guilt  in  having  suspected  you  of  a 
dreadful  crime.' 

'  Let  us  not  speak  of  that,'  interrupted  Colon  ;  '  that  may 
well  be  forgotten.  Let  no  suspicion  henceforth  come  between 
us.  I  am  changed  only  because  a  breath  of  happiness  has  blown 
over  me,  reviving  hopes  and  feelings  which  I  thought  were  long 
since  dead,  as  a  spring  shower  revives  the  flowers  in  your  garden. 
Do  you  think,  Beatrix,  that  a  woman  of  youth  and  beauty  could 
learn  to  love  me  ?  What  would  she  answer  me  should  I  ask  her 
to  be  my  wife  ?  ' 

"  Beatrix  attempted  no  reply. 

4  You  are  the  only  woman  I  could  wish  to  wed,'  continued 
Colon.  '  You  are  free  from  frivolity  and  selfishness,  you  are- 
gentle  and  patient,  religious,  and  capable  of  noble  emotion. 
Heaven  has  led  me  to  you  as  the  footsteps  of  a  wanderer  are 
directed  in  the  desert  to  the  one  spot  of  verdure  and  fertility 
where  he  may  rest,  before  he  leaves  it  for  a  further  weary  march 
over  burning  sands  beneath  a  sky  of  brass.  Your  tender  heart 
will  not  refuse  this  solace  to  one  who  needs  your  companionship 
and  love.  You  will  not  say  me  nay.' 


ON  COLUMBUS.  153 

'  This  was  not  the  impassioned  wooing-  of  a  youthful  lover, 
but  it  appealed  to  Beatrix's  lifelong  habit  of  self-sacrificing  devo 
tion  to  interests  other  than  her  own.  Pedro  (her  brother)  had 
told  her  in  a  few  words  the  story  of  the  Italian's  life,  and  she 
had  been  thrilled  with  pity  and  admiration.  Where  others  de 
rided,  she  was  ready  to  believe  and  uphold. 

'Tell  me  about  yourself,  Senor,'  said  Beatrix,  making  no 
direct  reply.  '  How  can  I  help  you  ?  ' 

"  Colon  took  a  seat  beside  her  in  the  shadow  of  a  pomegranate- 
tree,  where  a  nightingale  was  singing.  The  moon  cast  ara 
besques  of  shade  through  the  leaves  upon  the  sand  at  their  feet 
and  the  whitewashed  wall  of  the  house  before  them.  The 
brooding  silence  of  the  summer  night  was  full  of  peace. 

'  Let  me  enjoy  these  halcyon  days  while  they  last,'  exclaimed 
Colon.  '  It  is  a  moment's  calm  for  a  shipwrecked  mariner,  a 
truce  from  misfortune,  which  Heaven  grants.  Ah,  Beatrix,  the 
Virgin  blessed  her  worshipper  when  she  led  his  steps  to  thee  !  ' 

' '  Then  he  began  the  story  of  his  great  ambition,  which  was 
to  be  fulfilled,  like  a  Delphic  prophecy,  both  more  and  less  com 
pletely  than  he  hoped.  It  was  not  of  a  new  world  that  he  was 
dreaming,  nor  did  he  imagine  that  the  purpose  which  inspired 
the  enterprise  with  the  sacredness  of  a  crusade — the  conversion 
of  the  heathen  and  the  final  crowning  of  the  whole  by  the  rescue 
of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  with  the  treasures  of  the  Indies — should 
fail  of  fulfilment  and  remain  a  forgotten  dream.  As  he  unfolded 
it  to  her,  it  seemed  to  Beatrix  the  grandest  project  a  mortal 
could  conceive.  She  did  not  discredit  the  element  of  the  super 
natural  which  Colon  everywhere  recognized  in  the  leadings  of 
his  life.  When  he  again  referred  to  their  meeting  as  ordained 
by  the  divine  will,  Beatrix's  heart  was  filled  with  a  conviction 
that  he  spoke  the  truth.  What  higher  fortune  could  there  be 
than  an  alliance  with  this  messenger  of  Heaven  ?  Her  eyes  shone 
with  tears  of  sympathy  for  the  man  who  had  been  despised  and 
misunderstood,  derided  and  neglected.  She  could  console  him 
for  the  past  and  inspire  him  with  strength  for  the  future.  When 
Colon  ceased  speaking,  Beatrix  gave  him  her  hand. 

'  It  is  yours,'  she  said,  with  a  smile  which  was  a  benedic 
tion." 

In  a  subsequent  chapter  the  marriage  ceremony  is  related. 
4 '  The  marriage  service  took  place  in  the  cathedral,  attended  by 


154  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

priests  and  acolytes,  and  by  a  throng  of  the  friends  and  acquaint 
ances  of  the  bride,  although  her  father  and  younger  brother 
alone  represented  the  family.  It  was  a  grief  to  Beatrix  that  her 
husband  should  be  thus  slighted  by  her  relatives,  but  Colon  was 
unconscious  of  the  intended  affront,  or  indifferent  to  it.  The 
two  Geraldinis  were  at  his  side,  and  many  young  nobles  of  the 
court  were  present,  who  had  been  drawn  to  the  wedding  by  curi 
osity  and  the  fame  of  the  bride's  beauty." 

There  are  so  many  periods  in  the  life  of  Columbus  in  regard 
to  which  the  facts  are  meagre,  that  historians,  biographers,  and 
even  the  writers  of  historical  novels  have  indulged  largely  in 
conjectural  explanations  of  those  periods  thus  involved  in  uncer 
tainty.  Constance  Goddard  Du  Bois,  while  stating  that  the 
motif  of  her  book*  was  gained  from  Roselly  de  Lorgues'  "  Life 
of  Columbus,"  accounts  for  the  separation  of  Columbus  from 
Beatrix  for  a  considerable  portion  of  time  after  their  marriage, 
and  especially  during  his  last  years,  his  final  illness  and  death,  by 
conjectured  religious  vows  and  a  monastic  alliance,  in  aid  of 
his  great  religious  mission  as  the  Christ-bearer,  that  had  inter 
vened.  Such  instances  have  occurred  in  the  lives  of  married 
persons  by  their  mutual  consent  and  embracing  a  religious 
vocation,  and  with  proper  ecclesiastical  sanction.  Columbus, 
according  to  this  theory,  became  a  Franciscan  monk.  There 
are  not  wanting  authentic  facts  tending  to  support  this  view. 
His  well-known  partiality  for  the  Franciscans  during  his  entire 
life  ;  his  intimacy  with  the  prior,  Juan  Perez  de  Marchena,  and 
monks  of  the  Franciscan  Convent  of  La  Rabida,  and  the  immense 
obligations  under  which  he  stood  to  them,  and  still  more  with 
that  other  Franciscan  monk,  Antonio  de  Marchena,  who  had 
befriended  Columbus  from  his  first  arrival  in  Spain  and  sailed 
with  him  as  astronomer  on  his  second  expedition  ;  his  coming 
from  his  ship,  on  return  from  the  second  voyage,  wearing  the 
habit  of  the  Franciscans,  a  fact  which  shows  that  he  carried  that 
monastic  dress  with  him  on  his  voyages  and  wore  it  in  his  private 
quarters  ;  his  publicly  wearing  the  Franciscan  habit,  cowl,  and 
girdle  in  the  streets  of  Seville,  where  Las  Casas  relates  that  he 
met  him  thus  dressed,  and  his  wearing  the  same  during  his 
entire  visit  at  the  house  of  the  worthy  curate  of  Los  Palacios  ; 


*  "  Columbus  and  Beatrix."  p.  ix. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  155 

his  being  attended  in  his  last  illness  and  death  alone  by  the  Fran 
ciscans  ;  his  burial  by  them  in  their  convent  vaults  at  Vallado- 
lid  ;  his  being  again  interred  in  their  convent  on  the  removal  of 
his  remains  to  Seville — these  and  other  circumstances  go  far  to 
give  probability  to  the  theory.  The  secluded  life  of  Beatrix,  who 
is  never  known  to  have  left  Cordova  or  to  have  taken  any  part 
in  public  affairs,  even  in  the  triumph  of  Columbus  at  Barcelona, 
and  the  traditions  concerning  her  piety,  are  in  unison  with  the 
same,  and  tend  more  or  less  to  suggest  that  by  mutual  consent 
and  with  ecclesiastical  sanction  Columbus  and  Beatrix  embraced 
a  form  of  monastic  affiliation.  Fernando,  their  only  son,  spent 
his  life  in  study,  was  never  married,  and  may  have  united  with 
his  father  and  mother  in  some  similar  affiliation,  for  he  is  always 
spoken  of  in  the  early  histories  as  a  man  of  great  learning  and  piety. 
As  I  have  stated,  similar  instances  of  religious  dedication  by 
married  people  have  taken  place  and  been  sanctioned  in  the 
Church,  even  to  our  own  day.  Among  several  instances  of  that 
kind  may  be  mentioned  those  of  Lord  and  Lady  Warner,  in 
England,  and  of  the  Rev.  Virgil  Horace  Barber  and  his  wife,  in 
America,  all  of  whom  were  distinguished  converts  to  the  Catholic 
Church.  Lord  and  Lady  Warner,  having  been  born  and  edu 
cated  as  Protestants,  both  embraced  the  Catholic  faith  ;  after 
ward  the  husband  became  a  priest  in  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and 
the  wife  became  a  nun  in  a  convent  on  the  Continent.  Ample 
provision  was  made  for  their  children,  two  daughters,  who 
received  the  whole  estate  of  their  parents,  were  thoroughly  edu 
cated,  and  they,  too,  entered  a  convent  at  Dunkirk.  In  the  case 
of  the  Barber  family,  the  husband  was  an  Episcopal  minister  of 
learning  and  reputation.  He  and  his  wife  and  all  their  family 
became  Catholics.  He  became  a  priest  in  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
and  the  wife  became  a  nun.  Their  only  son  became  also  a  Jesuit 
priest,  and  their  four  daughters  became  nuns.*  It  is  not  indis 
pensable  that  the  children  should  become  members  of  religious 
organizations,  provided  a  suitable  provision  is  made  for  their 
support.  This  was  done  in  the  case  of  Fernando  Columbus, 
who  maintained  a  residence  for  himself  at  Seville,  and  erected 
therein  a  valuable  library. f 


*  "  Catholic  Memoirs  of  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,"  by  Bishop  de  Goesbriand, 
pp.  62-163. 

f  Winsor's  "  Columbus,"  etc.,  p.  603. 


156  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

The  marriage  contract,  as  manifested  by  the  ceremony  in  the 
Cathedral  of  Cordova,  between  Columbus  and  Beatrix,  described 
in  the  book  of  Constance  Goddard  Du  Bois,  is  not  a  mere  fiction,, 
it  is  a  fact  arising  under  the  presumptions  and  proofs  of  circum 
stantial  evidence.  Under  the  known  and  admitted  facts  in  the 
case  of  Columbus  and  Beatrix,  there  arises  a  presumption  of  law 
that  a  marriage  contract  had  been  regularly  entered  into  between 
them,  and  at  the  time  it  occurred  neither  the  laws  of  Spain  nor 
those  of  the  Church  required  more.  Such  a  marriage  is  good 
now  by  the  common  law,  and  is  valid  under  the  laws  of  the 
States  of  this  Union.  Let  us  refer  to  some  New  York  legal 
authorities  on  this  subject  :  "  Marriage  is  a  civil  contract, 
and  may  be  entered  in  any  manner  which  evinces  the  inten 
tion  of  the  parties.  Solemnization  by  a  magistrate  or  clergy 
man  is  not  necessary."  (Court  of  Appeals,  1862,  Hayes  vs. 
People,  15  Abbott's  Practice  Reports,  163.)  "It  is  a  sufficient 
actual  marriage,  .  .  .  that  the  parties  agree  to  be  husband 
and  wife,  and  cohabit  and  recognize  each  other  as  such."  (Same 
case,  7  Abbott's  New  York  Digest,  438.)  In  the  case  of  Clayton 
and  Wife  vs.  Wardell,  decided  in  the  New  York  Court  of  Appeals, 
Harris,  Justice,  said  :  "  It  is  not  pretended  that  there  is  any 
proof  of  such  prior  marriage,  nor  is  such  proof  necessary.  A 
valid  marriage  may  exist  without  any  formal  solemnization. 
.  .  .  Like  every  other  contract,  all  that  is  necessary  for  its 
validity  is  the  deliberate  consent  of  competent  parties  entering 
into  a  present  agreement  to  take  each  other  for  husband  and 
wife.  .  .  .  But  in  this  State  the  common  law  exists  ;  and 
whatever  may  be  thought  of  its  wisdom,  the  existence  of  the 
marriage  contract  is  a  fact  which  may  be  proved,  like  any  other 
fact,  either  by  positive  evidence  of  the  agreement,  or  by  evi 
dence  from  which  it  may  be  inferred.  ...  In  the  case  before 
us,  it  is  not  claimed  that  there  is  any  direct  evidence  of  actual 
marriage.  For  the  want  of  such  proof  recourse  has  been  had  to- 
secondary  and  presumptive  evidence.  It  is  attempted  to  estab 
lish  the  marriage  ...  by  evidence  of  cohabitation,  of  ac 
knowledgment  of  a  marriage,  of  the  reception  of  the  parties  as 
husband  and  wife  by  their  relatives  and  friends,  and  by  proof 
of  their  common  reputation."  The  principle  upon  which  these 
decisions  are  based  is,  that  while  a  marriage  agreement  is  essen 
tial,  such  an  agreement  may  be  legally  inferred  and  presumed 


ON   COLUMBUS.  157 

to  have  been  entered  into  from  the  circumstantial  evidence 
alluded  to.  There  are  few  cases,  however,  so  strong  as  that  of 
Columbus  and  Beatrix,  which,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  cir 
cumstantial  evidence  adduced  in  these  pages,  and  reinforced  by 
the  extracts  from  Lazzaroni's  work,  possesses  the  notoriety,  as 
an  actual  marriage,  of  having  been  recorded  in  current  publica 
tions  and  histories  for  a  long  period  following  the  event. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

"  And  farewell  goes  out  sighing." 

— SHAKESPEARE. 

"  Had  I  miscarried,  I  had  been  a  villain  ; 
For  men  judge  actions  always  by  events  : 
But  when  we  manage  by  a  just  foresight, 
Success  is  prudence,  and  possession  right." 

— HIGGONS'S  "GENEROUS  CONQUEROR." 

"  Applause 

Waits  on  success  ;  the  fickle  multitude, 
Like  the  light  straw  that  floats  along  the  stream, 
Glide  with  the  current  still,  and  follow  fortune." 

— FRANKLIN'S  "  EARL  OF  WARWICK." 

THE  long  and  dreary  years  of  delay  and  disappointment  are 
now  succeeded  by  fleeting  days,  hours,  minutes  of  cogent  prep 
aration.  It  was  originally  intended  that  the  expedition  should 
consist  of  two  vessels,  but  Columbus,  in  repelling  a  taunt  of  a 
Spanish  nobleman  that  he  was  seeking  the  accomplishment  at 
the  expense  of  others,  had  agreed  to  bear  one  eighth  of  the  cost, 
so  that  he  now  added  a  third  vessel  by  the  aid  of  the  Pinzons  of 
Palos  and  of  the  worthy  prior  of  La  Rabida.  While  it  was 
apparently  the  joint  expedition  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  the 
queen  was  the  real  patroness  of  the  enterprise.  The  expenses 
of  it  were  defrayed  out  of  the  treasury  of  Castile,  and  during 
her  life  few  but  Castilians  were  able  to  gain  establishments  in 
the  new  world. 

It  is  difficult  at  this  day  and  under  such  altered  circumstances 
to  ascertain  or  record  the  exact  thoughts  that  now  arose  in  the 
mind  of  Columbus.  But  his  past  history,  his  belief  in  his  divine 
destiny  and  mission,  his  highly  wrought  and  sensitive  nature, 
his  close  observation  of  all  that  concerned  or  affected  his  great 
undertaking,  his  quick  and  lively  versatility  of  sensations  and 
conclusions,  might  assure  us  of  their  unique  and  soaring  char 
acter.  Dreams  had  become  realities.  The  theories  of  a  life 
time  now  greatly  spent  were  to  be  at  last  realized  ;  opinions 
were  to  become  demonstrations  ;  the  opulent  empires  of  the 
Grand  Khan,  of  Prester  John,  and  other  Oriental  regions  were 


ON   COLUMBUS.  159 

to  be  united  to  the  Church  ;  countless  populations  of  benighted 
heathens  were  to  see  the  light  of  the  Gospel  ;  new  worlds  were 
to  be  brought  to  light  and  colonized  ;  boundless  wealth  and 
honors  were  to  be  his  and  those  of  his  posterity  ;  the  Holy 
Sepulchre  was  to  be  wrested  from  the  hands  of  the  infidels  ;  the 
prophecies  of  sacred  and  profane  writers  were  to  be  fulfilled. 
The  stranger,  the  visionary,  and  the  adventurer  now  became  the 
most  noted  and  rising  man  in  Spain.  King  and  queen  united  in 
honoring  and  trusting  him.  The  resources  of  the  kingdom  were 
placed  at  his  use.  Columbus  felicitated  the  sovereigns  on  the 
grand  results  now  almost  within  their  grasp.  And  while  Ferdi 
nand  looked  with  complacent  but  cool  acquiescence  on  what 
would  redound  to  his  interest  and  glory  if  successful,  and  if  dis 
astrous  could  be  disowned  by  him  as  not  his  measure,  the  noble  Isa 
bella  felt  that  she  was  performing  the  will  of  Heaven,  and  earnestly 
desired  the  conversion  of  nations  buried  in  darkness,  and  the 
extension  of  the  area  of  Christendom.  She  manifested  to  Colum 
bus  all  sympathy  and  honor.  Of  her  own  motion,  she  appointed 
his  son  Diego  a  page  to  Prince  Juan,  heir-apparent  to  the  throne, 
an  office  only  bestowed  upon  the  sons  of  the  most  distinguished 
families,  and  she  added  the  generous  salary  of  9400  maravedis 
for  his  support.*  She  lavished  upon  the  father  every  mark  of 
respect  and  confidence.  The  title  of  Don  was  bestowed  upon 
him  and  his  heirs,  and  those  of  viceroy  and  governor  made 
hereditary  in  his  family. 

It  seemed  at  first  fortunate  that  Palos  should  have  been 
selected  as  the  port  of  departure  for  this  momentous  expedition. 
That  town  had,  for  some  delinquency,  become  liable  to  supply 
the  crown  with  two  vessels  ;  there  the  voyage  was  to  commence  ; 
there  the  Pinzons,  the  good  prior  of  La  Rabida,  Juan  Perez,  and 
other  good  friends  of  Columbus  resided  ;  and  thither  he  joyously 
sped  his  way,  after  taking  a  respectful  and  grateful  leave  of  his 
royal  friends  at  Santa  Fe  on  May  I2th.  He  was  received  with 
great  joy  at  the  Convent  of  La  Rabida,  and  was  an  honored 
guest  of  the  sympathizing  and  generous  prior  and  his  devout 
monks.  On  the  morning  of  the  23d  Columbus  and  the  prior  of 
the  convent  repaired  to  the  Church  of  St.  George  at  Palos,  and 
here,  meeting  the  summoned  alcalde,  the  regidors  and  other 


*  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  i. ,  p.    115. 


l6o  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

principal  citizens,  a  notary  read  the  royal  command  that  the 
authorities  of  Palos  should  prepare  two  caravels  in  readiness  for 
sea  within  ten  days,  and  that  the  vessels  and  their  crews  should 
be  delivered  to  Columbus,  who  was  also  authorized  on  his  own 
account  to  add  a  third  vessel  for  the  expedition.  The  ships  and 
sailors  were  placed  under  the  immediate  and  plenary  authority 
of  the  admiral,  and  the  crews  were  to  obey  his  commands,  and 
go  where  he  directed.  But  the  admiral  was  cautioned  to  avoid, 
however,  the  Portuguese  possessions  on  the  coast  of  Africa. 
The  crews  were  to  receive  the  same  wages  as  sailors  in  the 
Spanish  naval  service,  to  receive  four  months'  pay  in  advance, 
and  the  admiral  alone  could  discharge  them.  Royal  commands 
were  also  issued  to  the  local  authorities  and  inhabitants  of  the 
seaport  towns  of  Andalusia  to  supply  provisions  of  every  kind 
at  fair  prices.  The  outfits  and  provisions  were  declared  free  of 
export  duties,  and  the  officers  and  crews  were  exempted  from 
criminal  process  during  the  voyage  and  for  two  months  after  the 
return.  The  royal  commands  met  with  a  ready  compliance, 
until  it  was  discovered  that  the  expedition  was  to  sail  into  and 
across  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  in  quest  of  unknown  lands. 
Heretofore  the  proposals  of  Columbus  had  been  submitted  to 
learned  and  thinking  men,  who  were  at  least  amenable  to  reason, 
facts,  and  demonstration.  But  now  the  common  people — sailors, 
noted  for  their  superstition,  shipowners  and  purveyors,  men  of 
every  class — were  called  upon  to  accomplish  what  so  many  of  the 
learned  had  pronounced  impracticable  and  fatally  dangerous. 
They  felt  like  victims  led  to  the  slaughter.  The  ships  were 
refused,  and  no  crews  could  be  obtained.  The  air  rang  with 
reports,  traditions,  and  stories  of  the  dreaded  ocean,  now  more 
than  ever  regarded  as  the  Sea  of  Darkness.  Many  weeks  were 
lost  in  fruitless  efforts  to  procure  ships  and  crews.  The  govern 
ment  had  to  be  again  appealed  to,  and  orders  again  were  issued 
for  the  impressment  of  ships  and  sailors  for  the  expedition.  Even 
the  presence  of  an  official,  Juan  de  Penasola,  an  officer  of  the 
royal  household,  clothed  with  full  powers,  failed  to  secure  suc 
cess. 

The  Pinzons  now  most  fortunately  came  to  the  relief  of  the 
admiral,  and  Martin  Alonzo  and  Vicente  Yanez  Pinzon,  veteran 
mariners  and  citizens  of  wealth,  standing,  and  influence,  vol 
unteered  to  embark  in  the  expedition  with  themselves,  their 


ON   COLUMBUS.  l6l 

ships  and  their  crews.*  Two  other  ships  were  impressed  by 
Pefiasola,  but  the  owners  of  one  of  them,  the  Pinta — Gomez 
Rascon  and  Cristoval  Quintero — resisted  the  impressment,  and 
fomented  the  prevailing  tumults  as  much  as  possible.  The  towns 
•of  Palos  and  Moguer  were  agitated  beyond  description,  disturb 
ances  resulted,  and  nothing  could  be  accomplished.  The  im 
pressed  ships  made  no  progress  in  getting  ready  for  sea.  The 
mechanics  employed  on  the  ships,  when  compelled  to  work, 
slighted  their  tasks,  and  finally  abandoned  them  clandestinely. 
The  sailors  recanted  their  enlistments,  deserted,  and  hid  away. 
The  opposition  and  obstacles  now  encountered  were  more  diffi 
cult  to  overcome  than  the  delays  and  arguments  of  learned  Juntos 
and  courts  ;  now  everything  had  to  be  done  by  main  force,  for 
the  whole  community  was  aroused  to  a  state  of  frantic  tumult. 
The  favorable  action  of  the  Pinzons  went  far  to  allay  the  excite 
ment  and  diminish  the  resistance.  Columbus  greatly  reduced 
his  demands,  and  by  dint  of  force,  persuasion,  inducements,  and 
the  influence  and  example  of  the  Pinzons,  three  small  ships  were 
procured,  two  of  which  were  mere  caravels  or  undecked  vessels, 
having  high  prows  and  sterns,  forecastles  and  cabins  for  the 
crews.  The  third  vessel  had  decks  and  was  named  the  Santa 
Maria,  in  honor  of  the  patroness  of  the  expedition,  its  previous 
name  having  been  the  Gatlego.  This  was  the  admiral's  vessel. 
It  had  been  prepared  expressly  for  the  voyage,  and  bore  the 
admiral's  pennant.  One  of  the  caravels,  the  Pinta,  was  placed 
under  the  command  of  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  who  was  accom 
panied  by  his  brother,  a  good  pilot,  Francisco  Martin  Pinzon. 
The  third,  also  a  caravel,  was  placed  under  the  command  of 
Vicente  Yafiez  Pinzon.  Each  vessel  had  additional  pilots,  men 
who  became  noted  in  the  future  history  of  the  discoveries — Sancho 
Ruiz,  Pedro  Alonzo  Nino,  and  Bartolomeo  Roldan.  Many 
friends  and  relatives  of  the  three  brothers,  Pinzon,  embarked  in 
various  capacities  in  the  expedition.  There  was  also  an  inspect 
or-general  of  the  armament,  Roderigo  Sanchez,  a  chief  alguacil  ; 
Diego  de  Arana,  a  near  relative  of  his  second  wife,  Beatrix 
Enriquez,  and  a  royal  notary,  Roderigo  de  Escobar  ;  also  a  phy- 

*  It  was  claimed  afterward,  in  behalf  of  Martin  Alonio  Pinzon,  that  he  had  some 
previous  knowledge  of  a  western  route  to  Asia,  derived  from  an  ancient  book  at 
Rome,  and  had  thought  of  following  it  up.  But  this  statement,  coming  from  his  son, 
is  not  credited.  (Tarducci.) 


l62  OLD   AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

sician,  a  surgeon,  some  private  adventurers,  servants,  and  ninety 
sailors — in  all  one  hundred  and  twenty  persons.  But  the  prej 
udices,  fears,  and  opposition  of  the  two  communities  of  Palos 
and  Moguer  were  not  allayed  ;  they  looked  with  amazement  on 
these  rash  and  foolhardy  people,  thus,  some  of  them,  voluntarily 
offering  themselves  as  victims  of  a  forlorn  and  desperate  adven 
ture,  and  others  submitting  to  impressment  in  an  expedition 
already  doomed  to  ruin  and  death.  Sad  were  the  hearts  of 
those  who  had  relatives  or  friends  embarked  in  this  mad  attempt 
to  brave  the  terrors  and  dangers  of  the  unbounded  ocean. 

Quite  different  were  the  sentiments  of  Columbus.  He  re 
garded  this  expedition  as  undertaken  by  the  inspiration  of 
Heaven,  as  a  mission  of  religion  and  of  Christianity,  and,  in  a. 
human  aspect,  as  the  highest  effort  of  national  patriotism.  He 
realized  more  than  ever  the  grandeur  and  solemnity  of  this 
crowning  event.  With  sentiments  of  the  deepest  devotion  he 
made  his  sacramental  confession  to  the  good  prior,  Juan  Perez, 
and  received  the  holy  communion  with  profound  piety  ;  and  in 
this  solemn  act  of  religion  he  felt  deep  consolation  in  being  joined 
by  the  officers  and  sailors  of  the  expedition. 

But  the  whole  community  of  Palos  was  cast  down  in  the  most 
profound  sorrow,  and  the  gloomiest  forebodings  were  felt  and 
expressed  by  the  people  and  families  of  the  town  as  to  the  fate 
of  the  adventurers.  Officers  and  mariners  had  been  taken  from 
every  family,  and  these  regarded  the  uncertain  and  dread  fate 
of  relatives  and  friends  as  more  afflicting  than  if  they  saw  them  die 
at  home  of  natural  deaths.  The  gloom  experienced  by  the  sailors 
was  intensified  by  the  tears  and  lamentations  of  their  friends  and 
relatives.  Amid  this  universal  consternation  Columbus  was 
calm,  hopeful,  confident,  and  prophetically  triumphant.  He  saw 
his  destiny  now  about  to  be  fulfilled.  He  took  his  son  Diego 
from  the  Convent  of  La  Rabida  and  placed  him  with  Juan  Rod 
riguez  Cabezudaand  Martin  Sanchez,  of  Moguer.*  The  expedi 
tion,  with  the  Santa  Maria,  the  Pinta,  and  the  Nina  (the  last 
name  signifying  the  baby),  under  the  command  of  the  admiral 
of  the  ocean  seas,  sailed  forth  from  Palos  on  Friday,  August  3d,. 
1492. 

Though  Columbus  kept  a  journal  at  sea  and  recorded  much 


*  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  Brownson's  translation,  vol.  i.,  p.  123 


ON  COLUMBUS.  163 

that  he  saw  and  felt,  yet  the  world  would  wish  now  to  know 
more  of  this  crucial  voyage,  which  resulted  in  the  discovery  of 
America.  With  a  formality  in  keeping  with  the  loftiness  of  his 
conceptions,  he  opened  his  journal,  "  In  the  name  of  our  Lord, 
Jesus  Christ."  He  reminds  his  sovereigns,  as  if  writing  a  testa 
mentary  paper,  of  the  glory  and  success  of  the  Moorish  war  now 
ended,  which  he  had  witnessed  ;  of  his  revelation  to  them  of  the 
ocean  path  to  India  ;  of  the  Empire  of  the  Grand  Khan  ;  of  the 
desire  of  Christendom  to  unite  the  Oriental  empires  to  the 
Church  ;  of  his  new  proposal  to  attempt  this  great  work  by  a 
western  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  rather  than  an  eastern  journey 
over  land  ;  recounts  his  commission  from  the  Spanish  sovereigns, 
his  patent  of  nobility,  and  his  powers  received  from  them  ;  his 
departure  from  Palos  ;  his  purpose  to  devote  his  powers  to  the 
great  task,  to  forget  sleep  in  his  close  attention  to  the  navigation 
of  his  ships  until  India  was  reached  ;  his  purpose  of  making  a 
correct  map  of  the  new  countries  discovered,  and  of  writing  each 
day  the  history  of  his  progress.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that 
Columbus  prepared  for  his  guidance  on  the  voyage  a  map  similar 
to  but  greatly  improved  upon  that  of  Dr.  Toscanelli,  and  that 
he  located  the  land  he  expected  to  discover,  which  he  supposed 
was  Marco  Polo's  Cipango,  about  in  the  same  meridian  where 
Florida  was  afterward  found.* 

The  first  course  taken  by  the  little  fleet  was  southwest  toward 
the  Canary  Islands,  and  thence  it  was  the  intention  to  sail  due 
west  ;  but,  before  reaching  the  Canaries,  the  first  exultation  and 
triumphant  joy  with  which  he  found  himself  the  admiral  of  an 
expedition,  with  armament  and  equipment  for  discovering  the 
western  world,  were  changed  into  distress  and  indignation  at 
finding  the  Pinta,  on  the  third  day's  sail,  in  a  disabled  condition. 
The  vessel  gave  signal  of  distress  ;  her  rudder  was  broken  and 
unhung.  Columbus  conjectured  that  this  was  treacherously 
contrived  by  the  owners  of  the  vessel,  Gomez  Rascon  and  Cris- 
toval  Quintero,  whose  vessel  as  well  as  themselves  had  been, 
against  their  will,  impressed  into  the  service.  It  was  the  experi 
ence  and  seamanship  of  the  skilful  captain  of  the  Pinta,  Martin 
Alonzo  Pinzon,  that  prevented  the  susceptible  and  anxious  crews 


*  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life  of   Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  126, 
Irving,  and  other  authors  on  our  list  of  authorities. 


164  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

of  all  three  vessels  from  becoming  panic-stricken  at  this  untoward 
accident.  The  rudder  was  secured  with  cords,  and  again  secured 
the  following  day  on  the  fastenings  giving  away.  The  ship  was 
leaking.  The  fleet  made  direct,  for  the  Canaries,  where  they 
arrived  on  August  Qth.  After  three  weeks'  delay  it  was  found 
impossible  to  secure  another  vessel  to  replace  the  Pinta.  A  new 
rudder  was  made  for  her,  she  was  repaired  generally,  and  her 
lateen  sails  were  altered  into  square  ones.  The  crews  were 
easily  cast  down  and  disheartened  at  every  circumstance.  The 
eruption  of  Teneriffe,  now  in  full  view,  was  regarded  as  an  evil 
omen,  and  then  a  vessel  arriving  from  Ferro  reported  three  Por 
tuguese  caravels  cruising  among  the  neighboring  islands.  Colum 
bus,  by  his  cheerful  words  and  manner,  had  to  parry  the  ap 
proaches  of  panic  and  disaffection  among  his  crews,  and  this  he 
succeeded  in  doing  with  remarkable  skill  and  success.  But  the 
presence  of  Portuguese  vessels  in  the  vicinity  was  looked  upon 
seriously  even  by  himself.  He  distrusted  the  Portuguese.  He 
succeeded,  however,  in  getting  his  fleet  again  under  sail  from 
the  island  of  Gomera,  on  the  morning  of  September  6th.  Here 
again  he  met  with  a  check,  for  a  calm  of  several  days  detained 
him  near  land  ;  and  when  he  again  got  under  weigh,  he  found 
himself  near  Ferro,  and  in  dangerous  vicinity  of  the  spot  where 
the  Portuguese  caravels  had  been  reported  as  sailing.  On 
Sunday,  September  Qth,  a  favorable  wind  arose,  and  before  night 
the  last  land  of  the  Eastern  Hemisphere  was  to  his  joy,  but  to 
the  consternation  of  the  sailors,  out  of  sight,  and  the  boundless, 
open  ocean,  the  dread  Atlantic,  the  fabled  Sea  of  Darkness,  was 
all  before  them, 

"  in  all  time 

Calm  or  convuls'd — in  breeze,  or  gale,  or  storm, 
Icing  the  pole,  or  in  the  torrid  clime 
,    Dark  heaving — boundless,  endless,  and  sublime, 
The  image  of  eternity  !" 

— BYRON'S  "  CHILDE  HAROLD." 

Such  was  now  the  reality  of  sight  and  feeling  with  the  sailors 
who  first  braved  the  western  ocean.  All  seemed  lost  to  them — 
their  country,  their  friends,  their  families,  their  homes  had  been 
given  up  for  a  boundless  waste  of  waters  and  of  storms.  Tears 
and  lamentations  broke  forth  on  all  sides,  which  the  cheerful 
mien,  the  confident  assurances,  the  brave  and  sincere  exaltation 


ON   COLUMBUS.  165 

of  the  admiral  could  scarcely  assuage.     He  stood  like  a  man  of 
self-assured  destiny  amid  the  cowering  forms  of  weaker  men. 

Columbus  now  gave  his  orders  for  the  conduct  of  the  voyage. 
In  case  of  separation  the  ships  were  to  continue  on  the  direct 
western  route,  and  after  making  seven  hundred  leagues,  the  dis 
tance  within  which  he  expected  to  reach  land,  they  were  to  lay 
by  for  the  night  ;  and,  in  order  to  lessen  the  growing  fears  of 
the  mariners  as  they  advanced  farther  and  farther  from  their 
homes,  he  kept,  besides  the  correct  reckoning  intended  for  the 
government  and  for  history,  another  and  an  incorrect  one,  show 
ing  the  distance  traversed  much  less  than  it  was  in  fact  ;  and 
this  latter  was  open  to  the  inspection  of  all.  The  Spanish  sailors 
were  thus  by  stratagem  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  distance  they 
had  sailed  from  home.  On  September  nth,  being  then,  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  leagues  from  Ferro,  a  part  of  a  large  mast  was  seen 
floating,  and  this  fact,  while  it  inspired  Columbus  with  hope, 
added  to  the  fears  of  the  sailors,  who  apprehended  at  once  that  in 
that  vast  and  stormy  ocean  shipwreck  was  inevitably  awaiting 
them.  He  exerted  consummate  skill  in  calming  the  blind  appre 
hensions  of  even  the  oldest  sailors. 

Columbus,  true  to  his  mission  and  his  promises,  had  vigilantly 
watched  the  course  of  the  voyage  and  every  circumstance,  how 
ever  trifling,  and  continued  to  do  so.  By  day  and  during  much 
of  the  night  he  was  at  stern  or  compass  box,  taking  in  the  prog 
ress  of  the  ships  and  the  signs  of  the  heavens  and  the  ocean.  A 
crisis  seemed  approaching.  For  some  days  prior  to  September 
1 3th  the  keen  eye  of  Columbus  observed  that  the  deflections  of 
the  magnetic  needle  increased  every  day  as  he  boldly  sped  his 
way  westward,  and  on  the  I3th,  while  observing  that  the  ships 
were  encountering  adverse  currents  and  their  location  was  now 
three  degrees  west  of  Flores,  the  variations  seemed  to  reach  a 
climax  where  they  ceased,  and  the  magnet  pointed  to  the  true 
north,  such  as  it  had  never  before  pointed.  In  fact,  the  mag 
netic  north  and  the  north-star  stood  in  conjunction.  With  quick 
and  unerring  perception  Columbus  had  discovered  the  line  of  no 
variations  in  the  magnetic  needle.  Keeping  his  observations  to 
himself,  as  his  superstitious  and  frightened  crews  seized  on  every 
thing  unusual  to  increase  their  fears,  he  boldly  and  calmly  but 
thoughtfully  passed  the  mysterious  line,  and  pressed  his  course 
still  westwardly.  But  as  he  moved  farther  and  still  farther  to  the 


1 66  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

west,  again  he  saw  the  magnet  point  farther  and  still  farther 
away  from  the  pole,  as  it  had  done  prior  to  the  eventful  I3th. 
Then  the  variations  moved  from  the  northeast  more  and  still 
more  westerly  toward  the  pole.  On  the  I3th  the  magnet  had 
pointed  directly  north— 

"  So  turns  the  faithful  needle  to  the  pole, 

Though  mountains  rise  between  and  oceans  roll." 

— DARWIN. 

But  now  he  discovered  that  deflections  were  reversed,  and  the 
magnetic  line  was  moving  farther  and  still  farther  away  from  the 
pole  and  from  the  true  north.  Though  reticent  and  thoughtful, 
it  was  impossible  to  conceal  the  astonishing  change  in  the  deflec 
tions  of  the  magnet  from  the  intelligent  pilots  or  from  the  eager 
and  fearful  crews,  who  were  ever  on  the  alert  for  new  alarms. 
Panic,  already  prevailing,  now  became  universal.  The  fearful 
question  was  asked,  What  does  this  mean  ?  Were  the  laws  of 
nature  reversed  in  those  remote  and  desolate  regions  of  the  earth 
and  in  the  midst  of  this  boundless  and  trackless  ocean  ?  Had 
the  forces  of  nature  lost  their  power  ?  Were  the  stars  no  longer 
a  guide,  the  needle  no  longer  an  index  to  fateful  mariners  on  the 
deep  ?  What  unknown  influences  were  to  decide  the  destiny  of 
the  ships  and  crews  in  that  vast  waste  of  waters  ?  Were  they 
thus  blindly  to  continue  this  ill-fated  voyage  in  search  of  unknown 
lands,  in  an  unknown  ocean  beset  with  such  fearful  phenomena  ? 
Had  the  compass  refused  to  the  mariner  its  friendly  and  unerring 
aid  ?  How  was  their  commander,  this  foreigner  to  Spain  and 
Spaniards,  who  professed  to  converse  with  Nature  and  to  know 
all  her  secrets,  to  explain  this  dread  phenomenon  ? 

The  most  uniriendly  and  reluctant  historians  have  here  ac 
knowledged  that  Columbus  made  an  important  and  startling  dis 
covery.  Justin  Winsor,  the  theory  of  whose  book  on  Columbus 
and  how  he  received  and  imparted  the  spirit  of  discover}',  is 
based,  as  its  title  shows,  on  the  assumption  that  there  was  noth 
ing  new  in  his  great  career,  has  admitted  that ' '  his  observation 
of  this  fact  marks  a  significant  point  in  the  history  of  navigation." 
And  again  he  says  :  "  But  it  was  a  revelation  when  he  came  to 
a  position  where  the  magnetic  north  and  the  north-star  stood  in 
conjunction."  Not  only  must  it  be  acknowledged  that  Colum 
bus  had  now  brought  to  light  one  of  the  unknown  secrets  of 
nature,  but  also  that  he,  by  the  force  of  his  ready  genius,  struck 


ON   COLUMBUS.  l6/ 

upon  and  revealed  the  true  theory  and  use  of  the  discovery. 
Pressed  by  his  panic-stricken  crews,  Columbus  showed  his  famili 
arity  with  nautical  science  and  a  ready  application  of  its  princi 
ples.  He  explained  the  line  of  no  deflections  of  the  magnet  to  be  a 
meridian  of  longitude,  a  crucial  or  test  line,  and  deflections  from 
this  meridian  line  might  be  found  to  possess  sufficient  regularity 
to  furnish  a  method  and  means  of  ascertaining  longitude — a 
method  more  certain  than  longitudinal  tables,  water  clocks,  or 
other  methods.  This  view  of  Columbus  was  confirmed  by  an 
other  distinguished  navigator,  Sebastian  Cabot,  a  few  years 
later,  when  he  crossed  the  line  of  no  variations  in  approaching 
the  northern  Atlantic  coasts  of  our  Continent.  It  was  at  first 
supposed  that  Cabot  was  the  first  to  discover  this  new  phenom 
enon,  but  the  subsequent  publication  of  the  journal  of  Columbus 
gave  that  honor  to  the  admiral.  Various  theories  have  since 
been  started  to  explain  the  line  on  some  other  theory.  Colum 
bus  endeavored  to  demonstrate  his  theory  on  his  return  voyage 
to  Spain  from  his  second  expedition.  He  and  Sebastian  did  not 
know  of  each  other's  observations  of  the  line  of  no  variations. 
But  Cabot  kept  his  observations  to  himself  as  a  supposed  or 
claimed  secret,  and  Humboldt,  as  Winsor  remarks,  conjectured 
"  that  the  possibility  of  such  a  method  of  ascertaining  longitude 
was  that  uncommunicable  secret  which  Sebastian  Cabot  many 
years  later  hinted  at  on  his  death-bed."  Columbus  freely  com 
municated  the  secret  to  his  officers,  pilots,  and  crews,  when  the 
prevailing  panic  gave  way  to  renewed  belief  in  the  wonderful 
learning  of  the  admiral,  or,  as  Fiske  remarks,  "  their  faith  in  the 
profundity  of  his  knowledge  prevailed  over  their  terrors."  The 
permanency  which  Columbus  attributed  to  the  line  of  no  varia 
tions  in  1492  has  been  studied  now  for  four  centuries,  and 
science  has  discovered  that  the  lines  of  deflection  are  not  parallel, 
neither  are  they  straight,  though  sometimes  nearly  so,  and  more 
or  less  inconstant.  The  line  as  then  discovered  by  Columbus, 
at  three  degrees  west  of  Flores,  has  shifted  farther  to  the  west 
since  his  day,  and  now  the  line  of  no  variations  is  almost  a 
straight  line  from  Carolina  to  Guiana.  The  line,  however,  is 
now  known  to  be  sufficiently  permanent  to  constitute  for  several 
years  at  a  time  a  safe  guide,  when  delineated  on  magnetic  maps, 
for  determining  the  longitude  in  any  latitude.  The  quick  and 
offhand  explanation,  which  Columbus  gave  at  a  crisis  in  his  first 


1 68  OLD   AND  -NEW   LIGHTS 

voyage  to  quiet  the  fears  of  his  men,  has  thus  been  confirmed  by 
the  subsequent  scientific  observations  of  four  hundred  years. 
"  So  science  has  come  round,"  as  Justin  Winsor  says,  "  in  some 
measure  to  the  dreams  of  Columbus  and  Cabot,"  though  it  is 
difficult  to  say  that  Cabot  had  any  such  theory  that  is  known,  or 
was  ever  divulged  by  him.  Columbus  was  called  a  dreamer  in 
his  early  years  of  seeking  and  delay,  but  it  is  hardly  correct  to 
apply  the  term  dream  to  his  method  of  applying  the  line  of  no 
deflections  as  a  method  of  determining  longitude,  now  verified 
in  modern  science,  as  it  would  not  be  to  apply  it  now  to  his  pro 
posals,  in  1492,  to  discover  a  new  world.  The  causes  of  those 
variations  of  the  needle,  and  of  the  shifting  westward  of  the  line, 
are  as  much  a  mystery  now  as  they  were  in  the  days  of  Colum 
bus,  in  the  face  of  modern  scientific  investigations.  Colum 
bus  adhered  to  the  last  to  what  he  had  said  to  his  sailors.  He 
was  mistaken  in  details  then  too  wholly  unknown  to  all  the 
world.  And  even  though  he  may  have  supposed  the  pole-star 
to  be  a  moving  star,  and  have  attributed  the  deflections  to  that 
cause  rather  than  to  the  needle  itself,  just  as  he  supposed  the 
lands  he  discovered  to  be  a  part  of  Asia  rather  than  the  land  por 
tions  of  another  hemisphere,  or  may  not  have  succeeded  in  de 
termining  the  exact  shape  and  size  of  the  earth,  such  theories 
on  his  part  are  far  from  making  a  dreamer  of  the  man,  who 
opened  the  path  to  the  rest  of  mankind  which  has  led  to  more 
and  greater  discoveries  both  in  geography  and  applied  sciences 
generally  than  the  achievements  of  any  other  man.  It  was  oa 
the  same  i3th  of  September  that  he  thought  he  observed  evi 
dences  of  a  great  change  of  climate  from  signs  around  him,  but 
this  conjecture  he  exploded  as  he  advanced,  the  first  of  men, 
across  that  unexplored  ocean.  His  critics  have  yet  to  learn 
from  the  lives  of  Copernicus,  Newton,  and  the  Herschels  that 
life  is  too  short  to  achieve  all  things  at  once,  and  that 

"  Life  is  short,  and  art  is  long." 

As  the  voyage  progressed  various  indications  of  land  were 
witnessed,  and  always  occasioned  great  joy  among  the  officers 
and  men.  Now  a  water  wagtail,  a  bird  of  the  land,  hovered 
over  the  vessels.  A  meteor  now  flits  across  their  path  and 
plunges  in  the  sea.  Green  weeds  floating  around  the  ships  he 
thought  indicated  the  vicinity  of  islands.  They  next  encounter 


ON   COLUMBUS.  169 

the  trade-winds  and  the  ships  make  fine  progress  with  their  assist 
ance  ;  yet  no  one  but  Columbus  knew  the  actual  distance  they 
had  sailed  westward.  Now  the  temperature  becomes  more  mild, 
the  air  more  soft,  the  skies  clear,  and  the  fragrance  of  the  groves 
and  flowers  of  the  lands  they  are  approaching  seems  to  them  all 
to  be  quite  perceptible.  Other  indications  of  land  which  they 
observed  were  the  quantities  of  herbs  and  weeds,  increasing  as 
the}'  advanced,  some  withered  and  others  quite  green,  such, 
too,  as  grew  in  rivers  and  in  fresh  water.  A  live  crab  was  found 
on  one  of  the  clumps  of  weeds.  They  saw  a  white  bird  such  as 
grow  in  the  tropics,  and  never  sleep  upon  the  sea  ;  also  tunny 
fish.  The  sea  water  seemed  to  become  less  salty,  the  air  purer 
and  sweeter,  great  numbers  of  birds  were  seen,  and  the  appear 
ance  of  the  northern  horizon  was  thought  to  indicate  the  prox 
imity  of  land.  Columbus  found  that  he  had  not  traversed  more 
than  three  hundred  and  sixty  leagues,  and  his  calculations  placed 
Asia  at  a  much  greater  distance.  Great  animation  prevailed 
among  the  crews  of  the  three  ships,  each  one  being  ambitious  of 
seeing  land  first,  for  the  sovereigns  had  promised  a  pension  of 
ten  thousand  maravedis  to  the  man  who  first  should  descry  the 
land.  The  Pinta  was  the  fastest  sailer,  and  was  generally  ahead. 
The  sailors  were  frequently  deceived  by  the  apparent  looming 
up  of  lands  and  islands,  but  this  was  caused  by  the  peculiar 
appearance  of  the  clouds  on  the  horizon  of  that  tropical  region, 
though  such  conjectures  have  been  partly  confirmed  by  charts 
showing  that  breakers  were  seen  in  that  part  of  the  ocean  in 
1802.  Drizzling  showers  without  wind  were  regarded  by  Colum 
bus  a  favorable  sign,  but  the  soundings  made  did  not  reach  bot 
tom.  He  resolved  to  pursue  the  direct  westward  line,  though 
he  supposed  he  might  be  sailing  between  lands  or  islands  which 
were  not  in  sight.  Why  should  he  not  turn  from  his  westward 
course  and  seek  them  ?  The  hopes  inspired  by  so  many  sup 
posed  indications  of  land  were  turned  into  disappointment,  fear, 
discontent,  murmurings.  But  as  Columbus  had  from  the  begin 
ning  declared  that  land  would  be  found  by  sailing  due  west,  he 
firmly  refused  to  deviate  from  that  course.  His  religious  faith 
in  the  guidance  of  Heaven  was  in  all  these  difficulties  an  unfail 
ing  source  of  confidence  and  firmness.  The  only  times  when  he 
was  not  at  the  poop  or  watching  the  compass  were  the  stated 
hours  at  which  he  retired  and  locked  himself  up  to  make  his 


I/O  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

appeals  to  Heaven,  recite  his  office  of  devotion,  and  fortify  his 
soul.  As  the  vesper-time  approached  the  ocean  breezes  wafted 
to  heaven  the  notes  of  the  "  Salve  Regina"  and  "  Ave  Maris 
Stella,"  devotional  hymns,  which  he  and  his  crews  addressed  to 
the  Virgin  Mother.  His  confidence,  his  firmness,  and  his  untir 
ing  watchings,  day  and  night,  might  under  less  appalling  dangers 
have  either  inspired  his  crews  with  courage  or  at  least  have  won 
their  confidence.  But  the  great  length  of  the  voyage,  the  re 
peated  failures  of  the  signs  of  land,  the  favorable  winds  from  the 
east  which  they  regarded  as  the  evil  means  by  which  they  were 
carried  each  moment  farther  from  home  and  farther  into  the  vast 
wastes  of  ocean — all  led  the  crews  to  the  verge  of  mutiny.  They 
did  not  disguise  their  discontent  ;  they  applied  the  most  disloyal 
epithets  to  the  admiral  ;  his  arguments  ceased  to  have  effect  on 
them,  his  authority  was  fast  waning.  They  thought  that  the 
winds  never  blew  from  any  other  quarter  than  the  east,  so  that 
when  the  winds  veered  to  the  southwest,  on  September  2oth, 
the  panic-stricken  seamen  felt  some  relief.  The  vast  expanse  of 
surface  covered  with  floating  sea-weeds,  an  area  stated  by  Hum- 
boldt  to  be  seven  times  larger  than  the  whole  of  France—  for 
they  were  ploughing  through  that  vast  prairie  of  sea- weeds,  Sara- 
gosso  Sea — still  filled  their  minds  with  apprehensions,  and  what 
was  at  first  regarded  as  a  sign  of  nearing  land  was  looked  upon 
now  as  a  forerunner  of  disaster.  They  thought  the  sea-weeds 
were  getting  thicker  and  more  matted  together,  and  that  soon 
the  ships  would  not  be  able  to  pass  through  them.  The  super 
stitious  sailors  feared  they  could  never  return  ;  that  the  surface 
weeds  concealed  the  immense  sea  monsters  that  would  devour 
them  and  their  ships  ;  submarine  giants,  the  heroes  of  early 
nursery  tales  and  sailors'  yarns,  were  revived,  to  seize  and  feast 
upon  them,  and  the  mild  winds  suggested  their  becoming  be 
calmed  in  mid-ocean.  Stories  of  whirlpools  that  would  sud 
denly  draw  the  ships  into  their  vortex  and  hurl  them  to  the  bot 
tom,  and  even  the  fabled  winged  roc  of  the  Arabians,  the  giant 
bird  of  the  air,  might  seize,  with  its  huge  bill,  not  only  seamen, 
but  entire  ships,  and,  ascending  with  them  to  the  clouds,  tear 
them  to  pieces  and  drop  the  fragments  into  the  ocean. 

The  fears  of  the  sailors  made  them  mutineers.  Columbus 
acted  with  consummate  courage  and  wisdom  in  such  an  unprece 
dented  crisis  ;  his  calmness  was  admirable,  his  ingenuity  in  point- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  171 

ing  out  new  signs  of  land  was  inexhaustible.  While  the  men 
were  stimulating  their  own  imaginations  to  evil,  sonre  imagining 
that  the  water  was  growing  shallow  in  mid  ocean  and  the 
ships  might  be  stranded,  others  reviving  the  stories  of  ships 
becoming  frozen  up  in  the  ice,  and  others  speaking  of  quicksands, 
of  hidden  rocks,  of  a  dead  calm,  and  of  the  rotting  of  the  ships 
and  the  perishing  of  the  crews,  he  pointed  out  to  them  that  the 
calmness  of  the  ocean  was  an  indication  of  the  vicinity  of  land. 
On  September  25th  his  arguments  were  aided  by  a  heavy  sea- 
swell,  which  dispelled  at  least  their  apprehensions  of  becoming 
becalmed  and  perishing  from  hunger.  This  he  regarded  as  an 
intervention  of  Providence,  and  felt  that,  like  another  Moses,  he 
was  delivered  with  his  people  from  the  dangers  of  the  sea.  But 
his  assurances  to  the  men  had  but  a  temporary  effect.  They  were 
getting  farther  every  day  from  home,  and  handed  over  to  the 
most  cruel  of  fates,  which  might  overtake  them  at  any  moment. 
The  murmurs  of  the  mariners  grew  louder  with  every  league 
they  made  ;  they  began  to  cluster  together  in  little  knots  about 
the  ships,  and  vent  against  the  admiral  their  discontent  and  anger. 
The  admiral  was,  in  fact,  at  their  mercy.  They  could  have 
murdered  him  or  have  compelled  him  to  return  to  Spain,  and 
this,  too,  perhaps  just  as  he  was  on  the  point  of  realizing  all  his 
hopes.  The  rough  sea  of  September  2$th  was  followed  by  fine 
weather,  and  the  ships  were  making  good  progress.  Columbus 
had  been  studying  his  charts  most  anxiously  in  the  endeavor  to 
determine  where  they  were.  He  sent  one  of  his  charts  to  the 
captain  of  the  Pinta,  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon.  They  had  much 
consultation  together,  and  both  Columbus  and  Pinzon  thought 
that  the  great  island  Cipango  could  not  be  far  off,  though  the 
former  conjectured  that  the  ships  may  have  been  carried  out  of 
the  direct  course  by  the  currents.  The  Pinta  and  the  Santa 
Maria  were  near  together  ;  the  chart  had  been  returned  to  Colum 
bus,  who,  with  his  pilot  and  several  other  old  seamen,  was  en 
deavoring  to  discover  their  location,  when  suddenly  they  heard 
from  the  Pinta  the  cries  of  land  !  They  saw  Martin  Alonzo 
Pinzon  standing  on  the  poop  of  the  Pinta,  crying  with  a  loud  voice, 
"Land!  land!  Senor,  I  claim  my  reward!"  To  the  south 
west,  about  twenty-five  leagues  away,  all  thought  they  saw  the 
land.  Columbus,  falling  upon  his  knees,  rendered  thanksgiving 
to  God,  and  he  and  Pinzon  and  their  entire  crews  united  in  chant- 


1/2  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

ing  the  "  Gloria  in  Excelsis. "  Many  seamen  at  the  masthead  or 
from  the  rigging  saw  the  same  object,  which  all  took  for  the 
land,  and  Columbus  turned  his  course  in  that  direction  ;  but, 
alas  !  on  the  arrival  of  morning  the  hoped-for  land  had  disap 
peared.  The  cloud  had  disappeared  during  the  night.  The  hopes 
of  the  crews  now  sank  more  than  ever.  But  the  admiral,  with 
unfailing  confidence,  again  resumed  the  direct  western  course. 
From  day  to  day  new  signs  of  land  revived  their  fading  hopes. 
The  reckoning  showed  they  had  voyaged  five  hundred  and  eighty 
leagues  from  the  Canaries,  while,  in  fact,  the  true  reckoning, 
which  Columbus  kept,  showed  seven  hundred  and  seven  leagues. 
The  former  number  was  enough  to  frighten  the  crews,  while  the 
latter  did  not  discourage  Columbus.  But  as  the  signs  of  land 
disappeared,  and  the  course  of  the  floating  weeds  was  from  east 
to  west,  and  the  visiting  birds  had  all  departed,  gloom  again 
took  possession  of  the  minds  of  the  sailors. 

All  thought  they  had  passed  the  lands  which  the  signs  had 
indicated,  and  even  Columbus  considered  this  quite  probable. 
But  in  order  to  calm  the  minds  of  the  now  eager  sailors,  who 
were  constantly  and  on  the  slightest  appearance  crying  out  land, 
he  announced  that  any  one  who  should  thus  erroneously  announce 
the  sight  of  land  should  forfeit  the  reward  ;  and  when  Martin 
Alonzo  Pinzon,  on  October  6th,  proposed  that  the  course  of  the 
voyage  should  now  be  changed  to  the  southward,  he  still  per 
sisted  in  the  direct  west  course.  He  also  ordered  the  caravels 
to  keep  the  west  course  in  case  of  separation,  that  they  should 
rejoin  him  as  soon  as  possible,  and  at  sunset  and  sunrise  the 
whole  fleet  should  endeavor  to  be  near  together,  for  those  hours 
were  most  favorable  for  descrying  land.  It  was  another  severe 
trial  to  Columbus  when  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon  began  to  lose  con 
fidence  in  the  direct  course  pursued.  The  island  of  Cipango  had 
not  been  found,  though  its  estimated  distance  had  been  traversed. 
In  deference  for  Pinzon's  opinion,  he  slightly  altered  his  course 
to  the  southwest  on  October  /th,  thus  yielding  to  the  sailors' 
partiality  for  following  the  flight  of  birds  ;  and  for  three  days  on 
that  course  the  encouraging  indications  of  land  increased.* 
Small  birds  and  fish  made  their  appearance  ;  a  heron,  a  pelican,. 


*  It  is  estimated  that  if  Columbus  had  not  thus  altered   his  course,  he  would  have 
landed  on  the  North  American  continent,  probably  on  the  Florida  coast. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  173 

and  a  duck  were  seen,  and  all  bound  in  the  one  direction  ;  fresh 
and  green  herbage  floated  on  the  tranquil  sea,  and  the  air  was 
sweet  and  fragrant.  But  while  the  distance  between  the  ships 
and  home  increased,  the  land  did  not  appear  ;  all  appearances 
were  disheartening  delusions  ;  the  crews  openly  expressed  their 
discontent,  and  turbulently  clamored  to  return  to  Spain.  The 
conspiracy  had  been  forming  for  some  time — nearly  every  man 
in  the  three  crews  had  joined  it.  The  three  Pinzons  were  well 
aware  of  this,  and  while  haughty  and  dictatorial  in  their  bearing 
toward  Columbus,  and  not  perhaps  absolutely  disloyal,  preserved 
silence.  The  officers  of  the  crown,  Arana,  his  wife's  nephew, 
his  own  crew  and  pilots,  were  all  in  the  plot.  Columbus  stood 
alone  in  mid-ocean  ;  alone  loyal  to  sovereigns,  to  himself,  to  his 
mission.  This  part  of  his  history  is  distinguished  for  consum 
mate  action  and  conduct.  He  had  frequently  exhausted  all  argu 
ments  and  persuasions.  He  now  asserted  the  full  measure  of  his 
authority.  Fie  informed  them  that  he  had  sailed  across  the 
ocean  for  the  Indies,  and  the  Indies  he  could  and  would  reach  ; 
that  neither  man  nor  devil  could  change  his  course,  and  as  their 
complaints  were  vain,  submission  was  their  only  course.  At  the 
same  time  he  assured  them  of  the  assistance  of  Heaven  in  reach 
ing  the  promised  land.  The  effect  of  his  deliberate  courage  was 
magical  ;  revolt  hid  its  head  before  such  personal  virtues,  and 
overpowering  numbers  yielded  to  a  single  will. 

The  story  that  within  a  day  or  two  before  land  was  discovered, 
Columbus  had  promised  the  sailors  to  return  to  Spain  unless 
land  was  found  within  three  days,  is  rejected  by  historians  ;  it 
rests  solely  on  the  unreliable  statement  of  Oviedo,  and  is  not 
found  in  the  admiral's  journal  nor  in  Las  Casas'  or  other  works  ; 
it  is  wholly  at  variance  from  the  dignified  character  of  Columbus. 

In  this  crisis  of  discontent  and  mutiny  the  perilous  and  desper 
ate  situation  of  the  admiral  was  somewhat  relieved  by  the  in 
creasing  indications  of  land.  His  course  was  now  due  west. 
Fresh  river  weeds,  then  a  green  fish,  such  as  frequent  the  rocks, 
then  a  fresh  thorny  branch  or  twig  having  berries,  then  a  reed, 
a  board,  a  carved  staff — all  in  succession  appeared  to  cheer  up 
and  exert  a  good  effect  upon  the  hopes  of  all.  So  deeply  was 
Columbus  impressed,  even  under  such  desperate  circumstances 
and  in  such  an  appalling  crisis,  in  which  all  was  staked  and  all 
seemed  lost  to  others,  that  when  on  the  memorable  evening  of 


OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

October  nth  he  assembled  his  crew  on  the  deck  of  the  Santa 
Maria,  to  recite  the  vesper  hymn  of  "  Salve  Regina,"  he  followed 
the  services  with  an  address  most  characteristic  of  the  man  and 
most  impressive  upon  his  wayward  and  dejected  hearers.  Grati 
tude  to  God  for  their  preservation  through  such  perils  and 
travels,  and  for  the  frequent  signs  of  land  which  had  been  given 
them,  was  his  first  sentiment.  The  promised  land  was  near  ! 
He  renewed  the  orders  given  at  the  beginning  of  this  momentous 
voyage,  that  after  sailing  seven  hundred  leagues  the  ships  should 
not  sail  after  midnight,  as  he  regarded  this  more  important  now 
than  ever  ;  he  expressed  his  faith  that  land  would  be  discovered 
that  very  night  ;  he  ordered  a  most  unceasing  watch  to  be  kept 
up  at  the  forecastle,  reminded  them  of  the  reward  promised  by 
the  sovereigns  to  the  one  who  should  first  see  the  land,  and  he 
promised  to  add  to  it  himself  a  doublet  of  velvet.*  Great  anima 
tion  prevailed  among  the  officers  and  crews.  It  was  the  courage 
of  Columbus  that  had  held  them  together  ;  but  for  him  they 
would  have  reversed  their  course  and  returned  to  Spain.  He 
alone  was  the  moral  motive  power  that  carried  the  ships  west 
ward.  The  vessels  were  making  rapid  progress  under  favorable 
winds,  and  the  Pinta  was  ahead.  Such  was  the  effect  of  the 
speech  the  admiral  had  made  to  them,  that  not  a  man  slept  that 
night.  He  stood  as  usual  on  the  roof  of  the  cabin  of  the  high 
poop  of  the  Santa  Maria  ;  his  watch  was  that  of  a  prophet,  a 
seer,  a  man  who  felt  his  destiny  accomplishing  itself, 

"...  the  spirit  .  .  . 
Undaunted  .  .  .  looks, 
With  steadfast  eye." 

— MRS.  STODDARD. 

His  ever- watchful  eye  was  the  first  to  rest  upon  the  land  of  the 
new  world.  It  was  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening  when  he 
saw  the  glimmer  of  a  light  far  distant.  Calling  Pedro  Gutierrez, 
he  inquired  of  him  if  he  saw  the  light,  and  he  answered  that  he 
did.  Then,  calling  Rodrigo  Sanchez,  of  Segovia,  he  asked  him 
the  same  question,  but  the  light  had  vanished.  Again  and  again 
during  this  brave  vigil  the  light  appeared,  and  again  disappeared. 
It  seemed  like  a  torch  or  lantern  in  a  canoe,  or  carried  in 'the 
human  hand,  for  its  motion  was  undulating.  While  he  thought 


*  Fernando  Colombo,  "  Historia  del  Almirante,"  cap.  21. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  175 

modestly  of  the  circumstance,  Columbus  felt  that  his  task  was 
accomplished.  Hour  after  hour  passed  away,  when  at  two 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  October  i2th,  1492,  a  gun  from  the 
Pinta  announced  the  same  land  in  sight.  Well  has  this  historic 
night  been  commemorated  with  a  noble  statue  of  Columbus  by 
Samartin,  erected  in  the  Spanish  Senate  Chamber  at  Madrid, 
and  bearing  the  inscription, 

"  A  las  Diez  de  la  noche  en  1 1  October  1492 
Tier r a  /" 

A  sailor  named  Rodrigo  de  Triana*  was  the  first  to  see  the 
land  ;  it  was  in  the  very  direction  where  Columbus  had  seen  the 
light  on  the  land.  All  now  saw  the  land  distinctly  ;  it  was  two 
leagues  distant.  At  the  report  of  the  gun  on  the  Pinta,  Columbus 
fell  upon  his  knees,  and  with  tears  of  gratitude  thanked  God  for 
sustaining  him  to  the  end,  and  for  enabling  him  to  accomplish 
his  mission.  He  sang  with  joyous  heart  the  hymn  of  thanks 
giving,  "  Te  Deum  Laudamus,"  in  which  he  was  joined  by  the 
officers  and  crews  of  all  three  vessels.  In  the  midst  of  his  exulta 
tion,  he  preserved  his  prudence  and  good  judgment.  By  his 
orders  the  vessels  lay  to,  all  the  sails  were  furled  except  the  lug- 
sail,  and  the  ships  were  put  in  a  state  of  defence  ;  the  arms  were 
cleaned  and  polished,  and  whatever  might  be  the  development 
of  events  in  the  morning,  whether  of  conflict  or  welcome,  all  was 
readiness.  The  entire  crew  of  the  Santa  Maria  came  forward  to 
offer  their  congratulations  to  the  chief,  and  to  do  him  homage. 
Columbus  retired  to  his  cabin  and  awaited  the  arrival  of  the 
dawn  with  sentiments  of  devotion,  gratitude,  and  joy.  With 
these  were  mingled  intense  and  tumultuous  feelings,  which  are 
usually  inspired  by  sudden  even  though  expected  success,  by 
uncertainty  as  to  the  developments  of  the  coming  day,  and  by 
the  brilliant  hopes  inspired  by  a  great  and  unprecedented  event. 


*  I  have  given  the  name  here  as  rendered  by  Mr.  Irving.  The  Count  de  Lorgues 
and  Dr.  Barry  state  that  the  name  of  the  mariner  who  saw  the  land  first  was  Juan 
Rodrigo  de  Bermejo.  Triana  claimed  the  reward  promised  to  the  one  who  should 
first  see  the  land,  but  it  was  adjudged  by  King  Ferdinand  to  Columbus,  as  he  had  first 
seen  the  light  on  the  land.  Oviedo  relates,  but  without  authority,  that  Triana  was  so 
offended  at  being  deprived  of  the  reward,  which  he  regarded  as  justly  his,  that  he  re 
nounced  his  country  and  his  faith,  went  to  Africa,  and  became  a  Mohammedan.  Mr. 
Irving  discredits  the  story.  De  Lorgues  and  Barry  do  not  mention  it  (Oviedo, 
"  Cronico  de  las  Indias,"  lib.  ii.,  cap.  2  ;  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  274). 


176  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

He  noticed  before  retiring  every  .minute  sign — the  fragrance  of 
the  groves  on  this  virgin  land,  the  vegetables  floating  from  its 
shores,  and  the  indications  of  its  fertility.  The  morning  light 
showed  the  newly  found  land  to  be  the  residence  of  man,  just  as 
the  light  he  had  seen  on  the  shore  the  previous  evening  had  indi 
cated  ;  but  what  manner  of  men  were  its  inhabitants  :  were  they 
savages,  cannibals,  civilized  men,  or  perhaps  monsters,  or  some 
such  strange  race  of  beings  as  the  maps  of  the  Middle  Ages  por 
trayed  ?  was  this  a  part  of  the  Continent  of  Asia,  the  outposts 
of  the  great  empire  of  the  Grand  Khan,  or  the  approaches  to  the 
dominions  of  the  long-sought  Christian  prince,  the  Prester  John  ? 
or  was  this  the  famous  island  of  Cipango,  so  abounding  in  riches 
and  grandeur  ?  Such  and  many  other  similar  thoughts  rushed 
tumultuously  through  the  mind  of  Columbus  as  he  gazed  toward 
this  promised  land,  now  found,  but  still  buried  in  dimness  and 
mist. 

It  was  Friday  morning,  October  I2th,  1492,  when  an  auspicious 
dawn  revealed  to  the  eyes  of  Europeans  this  beautiful  island  in 
the  Western  Hemisphere,  which  so  many  labors,  sacrifices,  and 
struggles  had  been  made  to  discover.  It  was  a  land  of  majestic 
forests,  reaching  as  far  as  the  horizon  ;  a  land  of  natural  flowers, 
which  perfumed  the  air,  and  of  purest  lakes,  reflecting  the  land 
scape  and  the  heavens.  A  vast  extent  of  level  country  was  spread 
before  eager  eyes  that  had  never  seen  this  land  before.  But 
there  is  no  feature  of  a  new-found  land  so  important,  so  signifi 
cant,  so  startling,  so  full  of  past  and  future  history,  and  so  in 
stinct  with  present  and  future  consequences  as  the  presence  of 
man  !  Columbus  saw  with  eager  eye  human  forms  issuing  from 
the  woods  in  all  directions  and  flocking  to  the  shores  ;  they  were 
perfectly  naked,  well  formed,  and  even  majestic  in  stature  and 
carriage.  They  were  overpowered  with  awe  at  the  sight  of  the 
mighty  canoes  before  them,  the  apparitions  of  a  night. 

Columbus,  followed  by  his  staff  officers,  the  captains  of  the 
other  ships,  and  by  the  armed  men  of  the  crews,  landed  with  due 
ceremony.  He  was  clad  in  the  scarlet  mantle  and  other  insignia 
of  his  high  office  of  admiral  of  the  seas  and  lands,  and  bore  in  his 
hand  the  royal  standard  of  Spain  as  he  descended  into  his  boat. 
The  two  Pinzons,  each  with  a  banner  emblazoned  with  a  green 
cross,  and  bearing  the  initials  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  and  the 
crowns  of  the  sovereigns,  followed.  All  the  officers  and  men 


ON   COLUMBUS.  1/7 

were  perfectly  armed.  It  seemed  like  a  moment  only  when  all 
stood  on  the  land.  Columbus  immediately  fell  upon  his  knees, 
and  prostrating  himself  before  the  Almighty,  kissed  the  land  he 
had  just  discovered.  Three  times  with  bending  form  he  kissed 
the  earth.  Then  rising,  and  drawing  his  sword,  Columbus  dis 
played  the  royal  standard,  and  calling  around  him  the  royal 
notary,  the  commissioner  of  marine,  and  the  captains  of  the  ships, 
took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  the  Saviour  for  the 
Spanish  sovereigns.  The  notary  by  his  order  drew  up  the 
official  proceedings  in  due  form,  and  all  present  joyously  and 
loyally  took  the  oath  of  obedience  to  him  as  admiral  and  viceroy, 
.and  as  the  representative  of  the  Spanish  sovereigns.  He  named 
the  country  San  Salvador,  or  Holy  Saviour,  in  token  of  his 
gratitude  to  God,  who  had  guided  him  to  the  new  world.* 

"  The  dashing, 

Silver  flashing 
Surges  of  San  Salvador  !"  f 

The  words  of  the  prayer  so  fervently  uttered  by  Columbus  on 
this  historic  occasion  have  been  preserved,  and  are  as  follows  : 
'  Lord  !  Eternal  and  Almighty  God  !  who,  by  Thy  sacred 
word,  hast  created  the  heavens,  the  earth,  and  the  seas,  may 
Thy  name  be  blessed  and  glorified  everywhere  !  May  Thy  Maj 
esty  be  exalted,  who  hast  deigned  to  permit  that,  by  Thy  humble 
servant,  Thy  sacred  name  should  be  made  known  and  preached 
in  this  other  part  of  the  world."  This  prayer,  by  order  of  the 
Castilian  sovereigns,  was  repeated  by  other  discoverers  in  the 
new  world,  by  such  men  as  Fernando  Cortez,  Vasco  Nunez  de 
Balboa,  Pizarro,  and  other  Spanish  founders  of  empires.:}: 

By  direction  of  the  viceroy,  grand  admiral,  and  governor- 
general,  for  now  his  well-earned  titles  and  powers  were  vindi- 

*  De  Lorgues' and  Barry's  "  Columbus,"  p.  159  ;  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  p.  156  ;  Ra- 
musio,  vol.  ii.,  folio  i  ;  Robertson's  "  History  of  America,"  t.  i.,  Book  II.,  p.  120  ; 
Oviedo,  lib.  i.,  cap.  6  ;  Las  Casas,  "  Historia  Ind.,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  40. 

f  The  precise  spot  and  indeed  the  very  island  upon  which  Columbus  first  landed 
has  always  been  and  now  is  more  than  ever  a  question  involved  in  doubt,  and  hence 
too  in  controversy.  While  Ilumboldt,  Irving,  Tarducci,  and  authors  generally  give  the 
honor  to  San  Salvador,  or  Cat  Island,  Navarrete  espouses  the  cause  of  one  of  the  Turk 
Islands,  named  Grande  Salina  ;  Varnhagen,  that  of  Marignano ;  Fox,  that  of  Samana,  and 
Munoz,  that  of  Watling  Island.  This  last  contention  is  supported  by  Beecher,  of  the 
London  Hydrographic  Office. 

|  Barry's  translation  of  De  Lorgues'  "Columbus,"  p.  159. 


1/8  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

cated  and  acknowledged,  the  carpenters  cut  down  with  their 
axes  two  large  trees,  which,  having  been  joined  in  the  form  of 
the  cross,  they  lifted  and  planted  in  the  soil.  The  island  thus 
first  discovered  was  called  by  the  natives  Guanahani,  and  was  in 
the  centre  of  the  first  line  of  the  Lucayas  Islands,  occupying  the 
middle  of  the  lengthened  group  forming  the  Bahaman  archi 
pelago.  The  officers  and  crews  crowded  around  Columbus  and 
went  as  far  in  their  expressions  and  protestations  of  admiration, 
devotion,  and  loyalty,  as  they  had  so  recently  gone  in  their  in 
subordination,  distrust,  and  mutiny.  Their  assurances  of  future 
and  perpetual  submission  were  unbounded. 

The  most  important  feature  in  this  great  drama  was  the  coming 
together  of  different  races  of  men,  heretofore  strangers  to  each 
other.  The  immediate  event  affected  the  Europeans  and  aborig 
inal  Americans  quite  differently.  The  former  had  regarded 
themselves,  up  to  the  moment  of  the  discovery,  as  victims  of 
the  chimerical  aspirations  of  an  adventurer  and  desperate  man, 
who  had  staked  all  on  a  new  theory,  a  dream  of  his  own  ;  and 
they  were  hurrying  on  to  a  certain  and  inexorable  fate.  Now 
that  the  theory  was  established  and  the  dream  realized,  their 
feelings  and  the  open  expression  of  them  went  to  the  other  ex 
treme  of  joy,  gratitude,  and  exultation.  The  simple  natives,  on 
the  other  hand,  when  they  beheld  the  great  ships  of  the  Span 
iards,  were  struck  with  amazement  and  awe  ;  they  flocked  to  the 
shore,  and  saw  with  astonishment  the  easy  and  graceful  move 
ments  of  the  ships,  which  seemed  to  obey  the  commands  of  the 
captain.  At  first  they  thought  them  huge  monsters  that  had 
come  up  from  the  deep  during  the  night,  but  the  opinion  that 
the  great  ships  had  descended  from  the  clouds,  using  their  great 
wings  for  that  purpose — for  such  they  took  the  sails  to  be — or 
coming  down  upon  the  clouds  themselves,  was  universally 
adopted  by  the  natives  until  they  became  better  acquainted  with 
Europeans.  Every  minute  detail  of  these  huge  canoes,  of  their 
movements,  and  of  the  celestial  beings  on  board  was  watched 
with  simple  wonder  and  close  attention.  Their  astonishment 
was  increased  when  they  saw  the  smaller  boats  let  down  into  the 
water  and  manned  by  these  extraordinary  visitors,  clad  in  metal 
and  splendid  trappings,  and  bearing  in  their  hands  brilliant  ban 
ners  and  powerful  weapons  of  polished  metal.  As  the  boats 
approached  the  shore  the  natives  fled  precipitately  to  the  woods,. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  179 

and  from  their  concealment  eagerly  watched  the  astounding  and 
to  them,  then,  unintelligible  ceremony  of  taking  possession  of 
their  country.  They  trembled  with  fear,  and  yet  were  at 
tracted,  even  riveted,  to  the  scene  by  curiosity.  They  gazed 
with  awe  and  admiration  at  these  wonderful  beings,  at  their  fair 
complexions,  their  beards,  and  their  gaudy  dresses.  While  the 
royal  notary  was  reducing  the  proceedings  to  writing,  the  simple 
natives  began  gradually  to  show  themselves  at  the  edge  of  the 
woods,  and  seeing  no  harm  in  the  celestial  strangers,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  as  they  smiled  and  received  them  with  gentleness,  they 
approached  nearer  and  nearer,  while  Columbus  and  the  others, 
following  his  example,  permitted  themselves  to  be  touched  by 
the  curious  and  awe-stricken  Indians,  their  beards  to  be  felt  by 
them,  and  their  armor  and  clothes  examined.  They  readily 
recognized  Columbus  as  the  chief  by  his  tall  and  commanding 
appearance,  and  by  the  homage  rendered  to  him  by  the  others. 
He  won  their  confidence  by  his  benignity  and  kindness.* 

Columbus  and  his  companions  scanned  the  natives  with  intense 
and  intelligent  interest.  He  observed  that  they  were  all  young, 
that  they  differed  from  the  natives  of  Asia  and  Africa,  and  from 
all  other  races  of  men  known  to  Europeans  in  color,  stature, 
features,  and  shape  of  the  head.  He  saw  no  human  habitations, 
nor  signs  of  wealth  or  civilization  ;  they  were  perfectly  naked, 
and  their  bodies  were  painted  in  various  colors,  some  being 
painted  over  their  whole  bodies,  others  on  their  faces  or  around 
the  eyes  alone.  Their  natural  color  was  tawny  or  copper,  some 
what  resembling  the  natives  of  the  Canaries,  and  they  wore  no 
beards.  They  had  large  heads,  straight  and  coarse  hair,  which 
they  cut  about  the  ears  but  preserved  in  long  locks,  hanging 
from  their  crowns  down  their  backs.  They  had  lofty  foreheads, 
prominent  cheek-bones,  were  of  medium  stature,  and,  so  far  as 
they  could  be  seen  from  the  grotesque  and  fantastic  manner 
of  painting  them,  their  features  were  rather  agreeable.  Some 
painted  only  their  noses.  All  were  males,  with  the  exception  of 
a  single  female,  young,  perfectly  naked,  and  handsomely  shaped. 
Their  arms  consisted  of  clubs  hardened  by  fire,  and  pointed  with 
sharp  flints  or  the  teeth  of  sharks.  Their  appearance  was  wild, 


*  Las   Casas,  "  Hist.  Ind.,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  40  ;  Oviedo,  lib.   i.,    cap.  6  ;  Barry's  De 
Lorgues'  "Columbus,"  p.  161  ;  Irving's  "Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  158. 


180  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

but  gentle.  They  were  so  unacquainted  with  metals  that,  when 
handed  a  sword,  they  handled  it  by  the  edge  until  they  felt  it 
cutting  their  flesh. 

,  Columbus  made  presents  to  the  natives  of  colored  caps,  glass 
beads,  hawks'  bells,  and  other  small  articles,  which  they  eagerly 
accepted,  and  regarded  as  of  inestimable  value.  They  proudly 
placed  the  caps  on  their  heads  and  the  beads  around  their  necks, 
and  the  sound  of  the  bells  was  wonderfully  charming.  They 
respectfully  and  generously  offered  to  the  Spaniards  everything 
they  possessed.  Columbus  was  delighted  with  the  gentleness 
of  the  natives,  which  he  regarded  as  a  promising  sign  of  their 
easy  conversion  to  Christianity.  His  zealous  mind  rejoiced  in 
the  prospect  of  bringing  countless  souls  to  the  joys  of  heaven. 
The  Spaniards  spent  the  remainder  of  the  day  in  rest  and  recre 
ation  on  the  shore  and  in  the  woods,  and  in  the  evening  all  re 
turned  on  board  their  ships. 

"While  the  Spaniards  were  delighted  with  the  grand  and  daz 
zling  result  of  their  expedition,  and  spent  a  night  of  joyful  rest, 
the  natives  were  busily  engaged  in  spreading  the  news  of  the 
arrival  of  the  great  ships  and  noble  men  from  the  clouds  far  and 
near.  Early  next  morning  the  ships  were  surrounded  by  canoes 
made  from  a  single  log  of  wood,  and  crowded  with  natives.  They 
brought  their  offerings  to  the  mighty  strangers,  such  as  large 
balls  of  spun  cotton,  darts,  domesticated  parrots,  and  other  native 
productions.  They  handled  their  canoes  with  perfect  ease,  some 
of  which  were  large  enough  to  hold  fifty  men.  They  also 
brought  cakes  of  cassava  bread,  their  principal  article  of  food, 
and  though  at  first  it  was  insipid  to  the  taste  of  the  Spaniards,  it 
afterward  became  one  of  their  most  important  articles  of  food. 
The  natives  were  called  by  Columbus  Indians,  because  he  still 
thought,  and  continued  to  his  death  to  regard  these  people  as 
natives  of  India  ;  and  this  singular  name  became  the  universal 
appellation  of  the  American  aborigines.  The  Indians  sought 
with  eagerness  to  exchange  their  parrots  and  large  rolls  of  cotton, 
weighing  twenty-five  pounds,  for  the  merest  trifles  received  from 
the  Spaniards,  regarding  such  things  as  possessing  a  supernatural 
virtue,  because  they  came,  as  they  believed,  from  heaven. 
Columbus  from  the  beginning  treated  them  with  the  utmost  jus 
tice  and  generosity,  and  he  would  not  permit  the  men  to  take 
the  large  rolls  of  spun  cotton  without  giving  an  equivalent  there- 


ON  COLUMBUS.  l8l 

for.  Their  cassava  bread  was  made  of  the  yuca  root,  but  they 
had  another  kind  of  yuca,  of  which  they  ate  the  roots  cooked  in 
different  ways.  They  esteemed  their  own  goods  of  little  value 
when  compared  to  the  wonderful  trinkets  of  the  marvellous 
strangers,  which  they  eagerly  sought,  even  the  fragments  and 
pieces  of  broken  china  and  glass. 

But  now  a  new  element,  developing,  in  fact,  the  sordid  aspira 
tions  of  civilized  avarice,  appeared  in  the  dealings  between  the 
Europeans  and  the  Indians,  for  the  former  had  caught  the  sight 
of  some  small  gold  ornaments  worn  by  the  latter  in  their  noses. 
Well  have  poets  in  all  ages  lamented  in  man  the  accursed  thirst 
for  gold  !  These  gold  ornaments  were  gladly  exchanged  by  the 
natives  for  glass  beads  or  hawks'  bells,  and  the  Spaniards  with 
even  greater  eagerness  embarked  in  the  traffic.  The  sight  of 
gold  roused  the  avarice  of  the  Spaniards  to  a  fearful  extent. 
Columbus  was  compelled  to  forbid  all  traffic  in  gold,  as  this  was 
an  article  reserved  to  the  crown,  and  so  with  regard  to  cotton 
brought  in  in  any  large  quantities.  He  felt  anxious  to  meet  the 
expectations  of  the  Spanish  sovereigns  in  pushing  his  search  for 
the  gold-bearing  regions,  and  he  inquired  minutely  of  the  natives 
concerning  the  location  of  the  countries  from  which  it  was  pro 
cured.  The  answers  he  received  of  the  existence  of  other  islands 
and  lands,  some  lying  to  the  south,  others  to  the  southwest,  and 
others  to  the  northwest,  deeply  interested  him,  for  the  natives 
represented  the  lands  to  the  south  as  so  abounding  in  gold  that 
the  tribes  from  the  northwest  made  predatory  expeditions  thither, 
remorselessly  plundering  those  countries  of  their  gold  and  carry 
ing  off  the  islanders  as  slaves.  Columbus  accepted  these  answers 
as  confirming  his  belief  that  he  had  reached  the  famous  countries 
described  by  Marco  Polo  as  lying  opposite  Cathay,  in  the  Chinese 
sea,  and  the  marauding  expeditions  mentioned  by  the  natives  he 
took  to  be  from  the  mainland  of  Asia,  the  Empire  of  the  Grand 
Khan,  whose  inhabitants  were  warlike  and  dealers  in  slaves. 
He  took  the  southern  countries,  from  which  the  gold  of  the 
natives  was  procured,  to  be  the  famed  island  of  Cipango,  for 
Marco  Polo  had  related  that  its  king  was  served  from  vessels 
of  gold,  and  his  palace  was  roofed  with  the  same  precious 
metal. 

Some  historians  have  regarded  the  triumphant  entry  of 
Columbus  into  Barcelona  as  the  discoverer  of  America  the 


1 82  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS. 

proudest  moment  of  his  life  ;  but  what  could  exceed  the  glory 
and  triumph  of  that  supreme  moment  when  he  stood  upon 
the  virgin  soil  of  the  new  world  itself,  its  discoverer,  plant 
ing  the  standard  of  Christianity  and  unfurling  the  banners  of 
Spain  ! 


CHAPTER  VIT. 

**  Attempt  the  end,  and  never  stand  to  doubt ; 
Nothing's  so  hard  but  search  will  find  it  out." 

— HERRICK. 

*  But  he  who  labors  firm,  and  gains  his  point, 
Be  what  it  will,  which  crowns  him  with  success, 
He  is  the  son  of  fortune  and  of  fame ; 
By  those  admir'd,  those  specious  villains  most, 
That  else  had  bellowed  out  reproach  against  him." 

— THOMSON'S  "AGAMEMNON." 

"  Columbia,  Columbia,  to  glory  arise, 
The  queen  of  the  world  and  the  child  of  the  skies." 

— TIMOTHY  DWIGHT. 

COLUMBUS,  having  rested  and  refreshed  his  crews  for  two  days, 
commenced  now  the  work  of  exploring  this  unknown  region  of 
the  world,  which  he  had  discovered  after  unprecedented  opposi 
tion,  sufferings,  hardships,  and  labors.  He  who  was  so  lately 
the  object  of  ridicule,  of  mutiny  and  threats,  was  now  regarded 
by  his  sailors  and  officers  as  the  greatest  of  discoverers  and  navi 
gators  ;  they  who  so  recently  plotted  his  death  at  sea,  with  the 
intention  of  returning  to  Spain  and  falsely  accounting  for  his 
death  by  accident,  were  now  his  enthusiastic  and  united  sup 
porters,  ready  at  a  word  and  a  moment  to  obey  his  orders,  and 
to  follow  him  loyally  wherever  he  should  lead.*  On  the  morn 
ing  of  October  I4th,  with  the  Santa  Maria  and  the  boats  of  the 
caravels  he  set  out  to  explore  San  Salvador  and  the  neighboring 
islands,  for  the  natives  had  told  him  of  the  existence  of  many 
adjacent  islands.  The  islanders  everywhere  had  heard  of  the 
arrival  of  the  visitors  from  the  clouds,  and  they  ran  in  great 
crowds  to  welcome  him,  and  to  see  the  marvellous  strangers  and 
their  great  canoes.  So  eager  were  they  to  see  their  new  ac 
quaintances,  that  they  called  in  loud  voices  to  those  remaining 
at  home  in  the  villages  to  "  Come  and  see  the  men  who  came 
down  from  heaven,  and  bring  them  meat  and  drink."  They 
ardently  thanked  the  great  deities  for  directing  these  wonderful 

*  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  164;  Tarducci's  "Life  of  Columbus,"  Brown- 
son's  translation,  vol.  i.,  p.  154. 


184  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

beings  to  their  shores.  Columbus  consoled  himself  with  the 
prospect  of  making  Christians  of  these  benighted  people,  even 
at  that  early  and  critical  moment  noticing  the  presence  of  stone 
in  the  country  suited  for  building  churches.  He  also  observed 
their  homes,  implements,  kitchen  gardens  and  their  orchards, 
and  saw  as  he  advanced  the  rich  forests  and  undulating  hills  of 
this  and  of  a  succession  of  other  beautiful  islands.  The  new 
world  looked  beautiful  to  his  eyes.  The  coast  of  San  Salvador 
was  surrounded  by  a  reef  of  rocks  within  whose  shelter  were 
deep  waters  and  secure  harbors.  He  selected  a  place  for  a  fort, 
a  small  peninsula,  which  could  be  easily  separated  by  water 
from  the  rest  of  the  island.  Six  Indian  cabins  were  standing  on 
this  point,  and  the  admiral  thought  the  gardens  surrounding 
them  equal  to  those  of  Castile  ;  but  he  was  now  in  search  of  the 
opulent  island  of  Cipango.  He  took  on  board  seven  natives, 
with  the  intention  of  carrying  them  to  Spain,  in  order  that,  by 
learning  the  Spanish  language,  they  might  serve  as  interpreters 
for  converting  their  countrymen  to  Christianity.  He  took  also 
a  supply  of  wood  and  water,  and  sailed  the  same  evening  in 
search  of  Cipango  and  its  fabled  riches. 

The  1 5th  was  spent  in  approaching  the  largest  of  the  numerous 
and  attractive  islands,  which  he  reached  that  evening,  and  named 
it  St.  Mary  of  the  Conception.  Here  also  he  found  the  natives 
amiable,  gentle,  and  generous  with  all  their  goods,  naked,  like 
those  of  San  Salvador,  cordial  in  their  welcome  and  in  their 
simple  hospitality.  The  Indians  on  board  the  admiral's  ship  had 
represented  to  him  the  existence  of  numerous  other  islands  of 
great  wealth  and  abounding  in  gold,  which  he  eagerly  thought 
he  identified  as  the  seven  or  eight  thousand  islands  described  by 
Marco  Polo  as  located  in  the  Chinese  sea,  and  as  abounding  in 
gold  and  silver,  spices,  and  precious  goods.  Every  incident 
was  now  of  deep  interest  to  him.  Just  as  the  ships  were  about 
to  sail,  one  of  the  seven  Indian  captives,  already  tired  of  his  new 
and  celestial  companions,  suddenly  plunged  into  the  sea,  and, 
swimming  swiftly  to  a  large  canoe  near  the  shore,  made  his 
escape  to  the  woods  with  the  Indians  who  had  been  in  the  boat. 
A  party  of  sailors  from  the  Nina  pursued,  but  only  succeeded  in 
capturing  the  Indian  canoe  after  the  fugitives  had  escaped. 
Soon  afterward  an  Indian  in  a  canoe  approached  and  offered  his 
ball  of  cotton  from  a  distance,  being  afraid  to  come  nearer,. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  l8$ 

whereupon  he  was  captured  by  the  sailors.  Columbus  had  the 
captive  brought  to  him,  and  having  refused  the  proffered  cotton 
and  decked  his  prisoner  with  a  colored  cap  on  his  head,  beads 
around  his  neck,  and  hawks'  bells  in  his  ears,  sent  him  ashore 
to  his  great  delight,  and  at  the  same  time  restored  the  captured 
canoe.  On  the  following  day,  while  sailing  for  another  island, 
he  extended  similar  kindnesses  to  another  native  taken  up  b}r  one 
of  the  ships  with  his  canoe,  and  returned  him  to  his  friends  with 
many  presents.  Such  repeated  acts  of  kindness  completely  won 
the  hearts  of  the  natives,  who  flocked  in  great  crowds  to  the 
ships,  and  they  also  received  presents  and  refreshments  from  the 
admiral.  Nothing  could  have  been  more  generous  and  humane 
than  the  treatment  which  he  extended  to  the  Indians,  which  was 
in  marked  contrast  to  the  cruelty  and  rapacity  which  so  many  of 
his  companions  and  succeeding  discoverers  practised  toward 
them  from  the  beginning.  Had  Columbus  been  invested  with 
ample  powers  and  supported  with  loyal  Spanish  soldiers,  his 
whole  administration  would  have  been  marked  by  the  same  just 
and  kind  treatment  of  the  Indians. 

Columbus  was  so  enraptured  with  the  beauty  of  the  lands  and 
sea,  forming  such  a  succession  of  delightful  surprises,  that  he 
was  embarrassed  to  determine  in  which  direction  to  turn  his 
ships  first.  '  I  know  not,"  he  said,  in  one  of  his  letters,  "  where 
to  go  first,  nor  are  my  eyes  ever  weary  of  gazing  on  the  beauti 
ful  verdure.  The  singing  of  the  birds  is  such  that  it  seems  one 
would  never  desire  to  depart  hence.  There  are  flocks  of  parrots 
that  obscure  the  sun,  and  other  birds  of  many  kinds,  large  and 
small,  entirely  different  from  ours.  Trees  also  of  a  thousand 
species,  each  having  its  particular  fruit." 

Columbus  found  the  inhabitants  of  Fernandina  similar  to  those 
of  the  other  islands,  but  they  were  more  intelligent  and  ingenious 
in  their  domestic  comforts,  or,  as  he  expressed  it,  "  more  socia 
ble,  more  civilized,  and  even  more  cunning."  Their  cabins  were 
neat  and  clean,  constructed  in  the  form  of  a  pavilion,  with  branches 
of  trees,  reeds,  and  palm  leaves,  and  located  in  the  groves.  The 
hammock  was  in  general  use  for  sleeping.  The  natives  here  as 
elsewhere  regarded  the  Spaniards  as  celestial  beings  ;  they  gave 
plentifully  of  their  fruits  and  foods,  and  filled  the  casks  of  the 
ships  with  the  purest  spring  waters  ;  they  made  propitiatory 
offerings  to  these  superhuman  beings.  In  sailing  around  this 


1 86  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

island  they  found  a  fine  harbor  two  leagues  from  the  northwest 
cape.  Columbus  wrote  that  "  the  country  was  as  fresh  and 
green  as  in  the  month  of  May  in  Andalusia  ;  the  trees,  the  fruits, 
the  herbs,  the  flowers,  the  very  stones,  for  the  most  part,  as 
different  from  those  of  Spain  as  night  from  day."*  On  the 
island  of  Saometa,  called  by  Columbus  Isabella,  he  remarked  the 
superiority  of  the  natives,  but  he  did  not  find  the  king  of  the 
island  clothed  in  rich  garments  decked  with  gold,  nor  the  abun 
dance  of  gold,  nor  the  mines  of  gold,  which  he  was  told  by  the 
other  islanders  he  would  encounter  there.  As  he  approached 
this  island  he  thought,  in  his  usually  enthusiastic  frame  of  mind, 
that  he  perceived  the  aromatic  odors  of  Oriental  spices  and  herbs  ; 
but  though  he  found  the  island  the  most  beautiful  one  he  had 
visited,  his  hopes  were  never  realized  ;  but  he  was  always 
directed  by  the  natives  to  other  lands  of  promise.  Having,  after 
several  days'  hovering  about  the  island,  failed  to  discover  the 
opulent  king  or  the  mines  of  gold,  his  hopes  were  next  directed 
to  another  great  island  to  the  south,  which  the  natives  repre 
sented  as  abounding  in  wealth,  and  rich  in  gold,  pearls,  spices, 
and  fine  merchandise.  Still  impressed  with  the  writings  of 
Marco  Polo,  and  intent  on  verifying  his  statements,  he  sailed  for 
this  great  island,  which  he  persuaded  himself  was  Cipango. 
The  great  vessels  of  trade  described  by  the  Indians  must  be  the 
ships  of  the  Grand  Khan  ;  the  great  island  of  Bohio,  the  natives 
said,  was  not  far  distant,  and  opposite  to  these  and  about  ten 
leagues  distant  he  thought  must  lie  the  Empire  of  the  Grand 
Khan  himself,  with  its  magnificent  capital  of  Quinsai.  Thus, 
taking  leave  of  the  Bahamas,  he  sailed  for  these  fabled  regions 
of  the  East,  carrying  with  him  the  letter  which  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella  had  entrusted  to  him  to  deliver  to  the  Grand  Khan  with 
his  own  hands.  Columbus,  with  his  mind  filled  with  the  fairy 
legends  and  mythical  geographical  traditions  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  and  at  the  same  time  unfolding  the  true  map  of  the  world 
to  mankind,  with  the  aid  of  advanced  science,  stands  forth  in 
history  as  the  connecting  link  between  the  ancient  and  the  mod 
ern  world.  It  was  with  such  splendid  dreams  that  he  gayly  and 
joyously  sailed  from  the  Bahamas  to  the  Antilles. 


*  Irving's  "Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.    168  ;    Navarrete,  "Primer  Viage,"  lib.   i.;  Mr. 
Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  L 


ON   COLUMBUS.  l8/ 

After  several  days'  delay  from  adverse  winds,  the  admiral  was 
under  sail  October  i4th,  and  after  passing  a  small  group  of 
islands  which  he  named  Islas  de  Arena,  now  the  Mucaras,  and 
crossing  the  Bahama,  on  October  28th,  he  sighted  the  queen  of 
the  Antilles,  and  was  astonished  and  delighted  at  its  size,  its 
magnificent  scenery  of  mountains,  valleys,  plains,  noble  rivers, 
majestic  forests,  promontories,  and  headlands.  He  approached 
the  island  on  the  coast  west  of  Nuevitas  del  Principe  ;  he  landed 
on  the  banks  of  a  beautiful  river,  which  he  called  San  Salvador, 
and  taking  possession  of  the  island,  he  called  it  Juana,  as  a  compli 
ment  to  Prince  Juan.  This  majestic  island  broke  upon  the  sight 
of  Columbus  like  the  realization  of  a  golden  dream.  As  he  sailed 
up  the  beautiful  river  and  observed  with  rapture  its  fruits  and 
flowers,  its  ever-changing  scenery,  its  noble  trees,  its  green  pas 
tures  and  lawns,  its  grand  mountains,  the  variety  and  luxury  of 
its  vegetation,  its  birds  of  many-colored  plumage,  its  balmy  air, 
its  clear  sky,  the  fragrance  of  the  woods  and  plains,  he  felt  con 
vinced  that  he  had  found  the  long-sought  island  of  Cipango.* 
Continuing  his  voyage,  he  occasionally  landed,  visited  the  vil 
lages,  gave  names  to  them  and  to  the  rivers,  and  here,  as  else 
where,  he  allowed  none  of  his  men  to  take  the  goods  or  proper 
ties  of  the  affrighted  and  flying  inhabitants.  He  saw  an  improve 
ment  in  the  architecture  of  the  houses,  saw  the  cleanliness  of  the 
cabins,  the  rude  statues  of  their  idols,  ingeniously  carved  wooden 
masks,  and  from  the  indications  of  a  semi-civilization  he  con 
cluded  that  he  was  in  the  approaches  to  a  great,  wealthy,  and 
civilized  empire.  Seeing  in  every  hut  quantities  of  fishing  tackle, 
he  concluded  that  this  was  the  fishing  coast  of  the  empire  they 
were  approaching.  The  Indians  taken  from  the  island  of  Guana- 
hani,  or  San  Salvador,  and  on  board  the  Pinta,  told  the  captain, 
Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  that  beyond  the  cape  and  on  a  river  lay, 
at  four  days'  journey,  the  golden  region  of  Cubanacan,  abound 
ing  in  precious  metals.  Pinzon  communicated  the  information 
to  Columbus  ;  the  map  of  Dr.  Toscanelli  was  consulted  ;  the 
belief  that  this  island  was  Cipango  was  abandoned,  and  it  was 
concluded  that  they  had  actually  landed  on  the  mainland  of 
Asia  ;  that  Cubanacan  was  no  less  than  a  part  of  Asia  described 


*  Charlevoix,   "Hist.  St.   Domingo,"   lib.  i.,  p.  20;  Irving;  Barry's  De  Lorgues' 
"Columbus  ;"  Robertson's  "  Hist.  America,"  etc. 


188  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

by  Marco  Polo  ;  that  it  had  for  its  ruler  the  Tartar  sovereign 
Kublai  Khan,  who  was  at  war  with  the  Grand  Khan,  and  that  the 
empire  of  the  latter  would  soon  be  reached  ;  that  they  could  not 
be  far  from  Mangi  and  Cathay.  He  accordingly  doubled  the 
cape,  which  he  had  named  the  Palms,  with  the  intention  of  visit 
ing  Kublai  Khan  and  delivering  to  him  one  of  his  letters  of  rec 
ommendation  from  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  and  then  proceeding 
to  visit  the  Grand  Khan  himself  at  his  capital  at  Cathay,  the 
great  object  of  his  mission. 

So  complete  was  the  delusion  under  which  Columbus  and  his 
companions  labored,  led  thereto  by  the  works  of  Marco  Polo 
and  other  mediaeval  authors  and  by  the  map  of  Toscanelli,  that  he 
actually  sent  a  deputation,  consisting  of  Rodrigo  de  Jeres  and 
Luis  de  Torres,  the  Hebrew,  Chaldaic,  and  Arabic  linguist,  and 
two  Indian  interpreters,  with  Indian  guides  to  the  court  of 
Kublai  Khan,  with  messages  of  friendship  and  peace,  and  to 
announce  that  the  admiral  would  come  in  person  with  letters 
from  his  sovereigns  and  a  present  for  the  Asiatic  king.  It  adds 
a  pleasant  tinge  of  romance  to  the  momentous  history  of  the  dis 
covery  of  America,  that  in  the  fifteenth  century  an  embassy  was 
sent  in  the  name  of  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  predecessors  of  the 
present  enlightened  ruler  of  Cuba,  across  the  plains  and  moun 
tains  of  that  island  to  a  fabulous  prince  of  an  Asiatic  kingdom, 
who  was  then  and  there  at  war  with  the  Grand  Khan  of  Tartary. 

The  ambassadors  returned  on  November  6th  to  the  ships,  and 
no  one  in  the  eager  crowd  that  gathered  around  to  hear  their 
report  was  as  truly  anxious  to  receive  with  credulity  the  ex 
pected  tidings  of  the  Tartar  king  as  the  admiral.  They  had 
penetrated  twelve  leagues  across  the  country  ;  the  great  Ori 
ental  ruler  was  a  naked  Indian  chief  ;  his  capital  was  a  village 
of  fifty  cabins  and  one  thousand  inhabitants,  equally  naked  as 
himself,  with  the  exception  of  a  covering  of  netted  cotton  around 
the  middle  of  the  body.  They  saw  no  gold  or  other  valuable 
articles,  no  spices  or  precious  stones.  They  were  treated  with 
the  utmost  deference  by  the  chief  and  his  people,  and  many  of 
the  latter  desired  to  accompany  them  back  in  their  journey  to 
the  skies.  While  this  unexpected  report  shattered  many  of  the 
admiral's  cherished  dreams,  so  firm  was  his  belief  in  the  theories 
he  had  formed,  that  one  temporary  delusion  followed  another. 

This  expedition  into  the  interior  of  Cuba,  though  it  may  seem 


ON   COLUMBUS.  189 

almost  grotesque  to  the  people  of  the  present  day,  formed  one 
of  the  processes  whereby,  step  by  step,  Columbus  and  the  first 
discoverers  felt  their  way  in  an  unknown  world.  But  there  were 
two  articles  discovered  by  the  Europeans  in  this  strange  em 
bassy  which  give  a  practical  importance  of  the  highest  order  to 
it,  one  of  which  has  done  more  to  affect  the  question  of  human 
food  throughout  the  world  ever  since  than  any  other  event  that 
could  have  happened  ;  and  the  other  has  given  to  all  the  nations 
of  the  world  a  luxury  of  universal  indulgence,  so  much  prized 
that  its  abolition,  if  attempted,  would  revolutionize  the  govern 
ments.  These  events  were  the  first  discovery  of  the  potato  and 
of  tobacco  by  Europeans.  While  Mr.  Irving  refers  the  former 
to  the  more  immediate  researches  of  Columbus  and  his  men 
during  their  exploration  of  the  resources  and  products  of  Cuba, 
other  authors  attribute  the  discovery  to  the  embassy  we  are  now 
describing.  Thus  while  Columbus  was  in  search  of  gold  and 
spices,  he  discovered,  without  knowing  its  value,  an  article  of 
human  food  more  useful  than  the  most  precious  metals,  and 
more  valuable  to  mankind  than  all  the  aromatic  products  of  the 
East.  But  it  was,  without  doubt,  these  ambassadors  of  the 
admiral  who  first  discovered  tobacco.  Passing  through  the 
country  they  saw  many  of  the  natives,  both  men  and  women, 
carrying  large  rolls  of  a  dried  herb  or  plant,  which  were  lighted 
at  one  end,  while  the  other  end  was  held  in  the  mouth,  and  they 
sucked  the  smoke  into  their  mouths  and  then  expelled  it  with 
their  lips.  Astonished  at  so  singular  a  custom,  they  inquired  of 
the  natives  the  meaning  of  such  strange  movements,  and  were 
told  that  the  large  roll,  in  shape  like  a  flageolet,  was  called  a 
tobago  (tobacco),  a  name  which  has  ever  since  been  given  to  the 
plant  itself.* 

While  waiting  for  the  return  of  the  ambassadors,  Columbus  was 
busy  in  having  his  ships  careened  and  repaired,  and  still  more 
in  seeking  information  from  the  natives.  The  latter,  in  their 
endeavors  to  enlighten  him,  frequently  led  him  astray  for  want 
of  a  common  language,  or  by  the  use  of  terms  susceptible  of 
different  meanings.  He  had,  however,  gathered  from  the  natives 
the  impression  that  to  the  southeast  lay  a  great  island,  but 


*  Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  p.  171  ;  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  182  ; 
Murray's  "  Lives  of  the  Catholic  Heroes  and  Heroines  of  America,"  p.  74. 


190  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

whether  it  was  named  Babeque  or  Bohio  he  could  not  tell ;  but 
the  great  capital  city  they  mentioned,  Quisquay,  he  thought 
must  be  Quinsai  (the  celestial  city),  which  Marco  Polo  had  so 
frequently  mentioned.  He  gave  the  name  of  Rio  de  Mares  to 
the  river  he  had  discovered,  and  sailed  on.  He  took  on  board 
several  natives  of  both  sexes,  to  be  carried  to  Spain  and  to  be 
instructed  in  the  tenets  of  Christianity  and  in  the  Spanish  lan 
guage,  in  order  to  return  them  as  interpreters,  to  aid  in  the  con 
version  of  their  people,  and  on  November  i2th  he  turned  his 
course  to  the  southeast  in  quest  of  the  populous  and  opulent 
island  of  Babeque.* 

In  all  his  intercourse  with  the  islanders,  it  is  to  be  observed 
that  the  admiral  made  the  most  earnest  inquiries  for  gold.  This 
was  prompted  by  no  sordid  motive  of  his  own,  but,  as  the  Count 
de  Lorgues  justly  observes,  his  motive  and  his  necessity  were 
to  meet  the  expectations  of  his  sovereigns,  to  interest  them 
and  all  Spain  in  continuing  his  voyages  by  such  evidences  of 
promised  recompense,  and  he  was  also  anxious  to  collect  gold  in 
great  quantities,  in  order  to  build  up  that  princely  fund  with 
which  he  intended  to  equip  and  sustain  .the  new  crusade,  that 
was  destined  to  redeem  the  Holy  Land  from  the  hands  of  the 
infidels.  He  stated  that  Cuba  must  contain  the  land  of  un 
bounded  gold  and  wealth,  Cipango.  "  According  to  the  globes 
I  have  seen  and  the  delineations  in  atlases,  it  must  be  situated 
in  this  region."  Again  he  writes  :  "  I  wish  to  discover  and  see 
as  many  countries  as  I  can."  f  He  wrote  the  most  urgent  ap 
peals  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  to  excite  their  zeal  and  efforts 
for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  to  Christianity.  This  aspira 
tion  was  uppermost  in  his  thoughts  ;  his  journal  and  letters 
exhibit  his  character  in  this  respect  in  the  most  striking  light. 
On  November  6th  he  entered  in  his  journal  also,  "  I  go  this 
day  to  the  southeast  to  search  for  gold,  spices,  and  unknown 
lands." 

Columbus  directed  his  course  away  from  Babeque  for  fear  the 
Indians  from  that  island  whom  he  had  on  board  might  desert. 
But  he  found  them  quite  contented  with  their  new  mode  of  life. 


*  Brownson's  Tarducci,  vol.  i.,  p.  173. 

f  "  Journal  of  Columbus;"  Irving's  "  Life   of  Columbus;"  Barry's   De    Lorgues' 
"  Life  of  Columbus,"  p.  166. 


ON   COLUMBUS. 

They  had  learned  a  number  of  Spanish  words,  made  the  sign  of 
the  cross,  knelt  before  the  crucifix,  showed  great  devotion  at 
their  prayers,  which  they  recited  with  hands  lifted  up  to  heaven, 
and  chanted  the  "Salve  Regina"  and  the  "  Ave  Maria."  A 
circumstance  occurred,  while  sailing  for  Babeque,  which  deeply 
impressed  the  religious  feelings  of  Columbus.  He  observed  a 
large  cluster  of  islands,  countless  in  number  and  forming  quite 
an  archipelago,  and  as  he  was  proceeding  to  take  possession  of 
the  first  in  the  name  of  all,  he  saw  a  huge  cross  on  an  eminence 
formed  by  two  falling  trunks  of  trees,  the  arm  of  the  cross  having 
fallen  across  the  larger  trunk.  He  fell  upon  his  knees  ;  he  thanked 
God  for  this  sign  of  His  mercy,  and  having  had  the  cross  fitted 
together  by  his  carpenters,  on  the  following  Sunday  he  and  his 
staff  officers  and  others  made  a  solemn  procession,  and  erected 
the  cross  firmly  in  the  soil. 

But  Columbus  found  some  of  his  own  followers  less  manage 
able  than  the  barbarians  on  board  the  ships,  for  he  already 
noticed  that  the  Pinzons  did  not  punctually  obey  his  orders,  and 
occasionally  let  expressions  drop  which  were  inconsiderate  or 
insubordinate.  On  November  2oth  the  Pinta  paid  no  attention 
to  his  signals  ;  at  night  he  shortened  sail  and  signalled  to  the 
Pinta  to  join  him,  but  at  dawn,  to  his  great  disappointment,  the 
Pinta  was  not  to  be  seen.  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon,  with  his  ship, 
had  deserted  the  admiral  !  The  latter  was  deeply  affected  by 
this  ignoble  act  ;  he  was  in  doubt  as  to  the  designs  of  Pinzon  ; 
he  could  not  overtake  the  Pinta,  with  her  superior  speed  ;  he 
therefore  returned  to  continue  the  exploration  of  the  coast  of 
Cuba.  He  reached  the  point  of  Cuba  on  November  24th,  an 
chored  in  a  magnificent  harbor  formed  by  the  mouth  of  a  river, 
which  he  named  St.  Catherine.  In  the  bed  of  the  river  he  dis 
covered  stones  veined  with  gold.  He  made  note  of  the  various 
vegetable  products  of  the  country,  especially  of  its  gigantic  trees, 
and  while  thus  coasting  and  landing  from  time  to  time,  he  dis 
covered  a  cake  of  wax  in  one  of  the  Indian  cabins,  though  this 
was  subsequently  believed  to  have  been  brought  from  Yucatan. 
From  one  of  the  great  fir-trees  he  caused  a  mast  to  be  made  for 
the  Nina.  In  the  midst  of  his  sorrow  at  the  desertion  of  the 
Pinta,  his  journal  is  full  of  expressions  of  gratitude  to  God,  such 
as  the  following  :  "  It  pleased  our  Lord  to  show  him  every  day 
something  better  than  that  of  the  preceding  day  ;  and  that  he 


192  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

went  from  good  to  better  in  all  his  discoveries."  Having 
reached  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  island  of  Cuba  on  December 
$th,  the  admiral  concluded  this  must  be  the  eastern  limit  of  Asia, 
and  he  called  it  the  Alpha  and  Omega. 

Laboring  under  this  impression,  still  embarrassed  by  the  deser 
tion  of  the  Pinta,  and  undecided  whether  to  continue  the  naviga 
tion  of  the  Cuban  coast  until  he  should  reach  the  rich  regions  of 
farther  India  or  pursue  the  search  for  the  golden  island  of 
Babeque,  he  was  sailing  almost  without  an  immediate  aim,  when 
he  discovered  an  island  w.hich  he  took  at  first  for  a  gold-bearing 
island  mentioned  by  the  Indians  under  the  name  of  Bohio,  but 
which  turned  out  to  be  Hayti,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of 
Hispaniola.  This  majestic  island,  with  its  grand  scenery,  its 
lofty  and  rocky  mountains,  its  expanding  verdure,  all  seen 
through  a  clear  atmosphere,  reanimated  the  spirits  of  the  "ad 
miral.  He  entered  a  fine  harbor  at  the  western  end,  and  called 
it  St.  Nicholas.  There  were  many  signs  of  the  island  being 
quite  populous.  It  abounded  in  fish,  and  possessed  beautiful 
rivers  and  harbors.  While  detained  in  his  exploration  of  the 
coast,  he  named  another  harbor  Conception,  and  entering  it,  they 
took  solemn  possession  of  the  island  on  December  I2th,  erecting 
a  cross  in  token  of  that  event.  The  natives  at  first  fled  from 
beings  whom  they  took  for  messengers  from  heaven,  but  the 
kindness  and  generosity  of  Columbus  soon  won  their  confidence. 
His  descriptions  of  this  beautiful  island,  written  at  the  time,  rep 
resented  it  as  closely  resembling  the  most  favored  parts  of  Spain. 
The  first  of  the  natives  with  whom  the  Spaniards  came  in  con 
tact  was  a  young  female,  captured  after  the  ceremony  of  taking 
possession  of  the  country.  She  was  brought,  trembling  with  fear, 
before  the  admiral,  who  treated  her  with  even  more  than  his 
usual  kindness.  He  caused  her  to  be  clad  in  European  garments, 
and  bestowed  upon  her  the  usual  presents  of  beads,  brass  rings, 
hawks'  bells,  and  other  trifles.  He  then  returned  her  to  her 
people,  even  against  her  will,  as  she  was  well  pleased  with  the 
finery  and  kindness  she  received.  On  the  following  day  nine 
robust  Spanish  soldiers  were  sent  to  find  the  Indian  village,  and 
soon  the  best  relations  were  established  between  the  Haytians 


*  Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  p.  175  ;  "  Hist,  del  Almirante,"  cap.  29  ;  Las 
Casas,"  Journal  of  Columbus,  25  de  Noviembre  ;"  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  igi. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  193 

and  their  celestial  visitors.  While  at  the  village  the  Spaniards 
saw  the  good  effect  the  kindness  shown  to  the  Indian  woman  on 
the  previous  day  had  produced,  for  she  was  brought  in  triumph 
on  the  shoulders  of  the  men  into  the  village,  and  her  husband 
•expressed  unbounded  happiness  at  the  honors  and  favors  shown 
to  her. 

The  natives  ol  Hayti  were  in  a  state  ol  primitive  simplicity  ; 
the  spontaneous  soil  and  serene  climate  yielded  them  abundant 
food  without  labor  ;  clothing  was  unknown  ;  and  they  had  no 
wants  beyond  those  simple  needs  which  nature  supplied.  The 
accounts  written  by  Columbus  and  by  contemporary  authors  rep 
resent  Hispaniola,  which  was  the  name  he  bestowed  upon  the 
island  of  Hayti,  as  an  earthly  paradise.  While  enjoying  a  super 
fluity  of  good  things,  they  gave  lavishly  of  all  they  had  ;  there 
was  no  distinction  of  mine  and  thine  ;  no  code  of  laws  or  officers 
of  the  law  were  necessary,  but,  as  Peter  Martyr  wrote,  "  They 
deal  truly  with  one  another,  without  laws,  without  books,  and 
without  judges."  Columbus  wrote  of  the  inhabitants,  "  Men 
and  women  were  as  naked  as  when  they  came  from  the  bosoms 
of  their  mothers,"  and,  as  De  Lorgues  writes,  Columbus  "  or 
dered  the  greatest  decency  to  be  observed  toward  these  simple 
children  of  nature."  It  was  related  that  while  the  ordinary 
members  of  the  tribe  were  contented  with  one  wife,  the  chief 
was  allowed  twenty.  When  once  acquainted  with  the  Spaniards, 
they  immediately  placed  unbounded  faith  in  them.  Columbus 
rejoiced  at  the  prospect  of  making  these  innocent  people  Chris 
tians. 

The  admiral  made  another  effort  between  December  I4th  and 
1 6th  to  discover  the  fabled  island  of  Babeque,  but,  like  other 
visions  created  by  the  mistaken  information  of  the  natives,  it 
•eluded  his  search.  He  resumed  the  exploration  of  the  coast  of 
Hispaniola.  At  a  beautiful  harbor,  which  he  named  the  Port  of 
Peace,  he  liberated  another  Indian  whom  he  had  taken  up  with 
his  canoe  from  the  waters  during  his  cruise,  and  sent  him  with 
presents  to  his  people.  Here  he  received  a  visit  from  a  young 
cacique,  carried  in  a  litter  by  four  of  his  subjects,  and  attended 
by  two  hundred  others.  Presents  were  exchanged.  Columbus 
entertained  the  chief  at  dinner,  and  in  the  evening  sent  him 
ashore  with  great  ceremony  and  a  salute  from  the  cannons  of  the 
ships.  Great  ceremony  was  observed  in  the  chief's  return  to  his 


194  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

village,  and  the  presents  he  had  received  were  carried  at  the 
head  of  the  long  royal  procession.  While  on  board  the  admiral 
showed  him  all  the  parts  of  the  ship,  Spanish  coins,  and  a  cruci 
fix,  and  was  lavish  in  his  presents,  avowing  to  his  officers  his 
hopes  thus,  and  by  setting  them  an  example  of  Christian  virtues, 
to  predispose  the  chief  favorably  for  the  Christian  faith.  He 
wrote  to  the  sovereigns,  "  They  are  the  best  people  in  the  world, 
and  I  have  great  hope  in  our  Lord  that  your  Highnesses  will  make 
them  all  Christians."*  He  caused  a  large  cross  to  be  erected 
in  the  village  of  his  visitor,  the  cacique,  around  which  the  Indians 
assembled  and  prayed  after  the  manner  of  the  Spaniards,  and 
Columbus  "  hoped  in  our  Lord  that  all  these  islands  would 
become  Christian."  Continuing  his  examination  of  the  coast  of 
Hispaniola  on  December  igth  and  2oth,  he  anchored  in  a  fine 
harbor,  which  he  called  St.  Thomas,  supposed  to  be  now  the 
Bay  of  Acul,  and  here  the  natives  flocked  to  the  anchorage  in 
great  numbers  and  offered  as  presents  to  the  celestials  small 
pieces  of  gold,  calabashes  of  fresh  water,  yam  bread,  and  what 
ever  they  possessed,  with  unbounded  generosity.  The  admiral 
ordered  that  in  every  case  presents  should  be  given  in  return. 
Several  neighboring  caciques  visited  the  ships,  invited  the  Span 
iards  to  their  villages,  and  entertained  them  with  unbounded 
hospitality.  On  December  22d  Columbus  received  an  embassy 
Irom  the  great  cacique  of  the  country,  Guacanagari,  who  sent 
presents  of  gold,  beads,  and  other  Indian  articles,  and  requested 
a  visit  from  the  august  strangers  from  the  clouds.  The  fleet  was 
immediately  sailed  to  the  eastward,  and  at  the  town  built  on  the 
river  called  by  the  Spaniards  Punta  Santa  was  the  capital  of 
this  great  cacique,  the  largest  and  finest  village  they  had  seen. 
A  deputation,  consisting  of  the  notary  and  several  mariners,  was 
sent  to  the  chief,  who  received  them  with  every  honor,  and 
he  and  his  people  loaded  them  with  presents.  Though  ask 
ing  nothing  in  return,  they  received  the  presents  of  the  Spaniards 
with  great  joy  and  superstitious  veneration.  The  cacique  sent 
presents  of  parrots  and  gold  to  the  admiral,  and  the  delegates 
were  escorted  to  their  boats  by  a  large  crowd  of  Indians  eager 
to  do  them  every  service.  In  the  mean  time,  lesser  caciques 
and  great  numbers  of  their  subjects  visited  the  ships,  and 


*  "Journal  of  Columbus,"  Sunday,  December  i6th. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  19$ 

these,  as  usual,  assured  the  admiral  of  the  existence  of  rich  re 
gions  in  the  interior,  and  especially  of  one  named  Cibao,  which 
he  persuaded  himself  could  be  no  other  than  Marco  Polo's 
opulent  island  of  Cipango.  And  yet,  with  his  accustomed  sub 
mission  of  all  things  to  the  heavenly  guidance,  he  wrote  in  his 
journal  the  inmost  sentiments  of  his  soul  :  "  May  our  Lord,  who 
holds  all  things  in  His  hands,  be  pleased  to  vouchsafe  to  me  what 
is  most  for  His  service."  While  at  this  anchorage  five  caciques 
and  several  thousand  people  visited  the  admiral,  mostly  in  canoes, 
yet  five  hundred  swam  to  the  ships  for  want  of  canoes,  all 
bringing  presents  and  receiving  them  in  return.  The  scene  was 
one  of  unequalled  novelty  and  interest.  Caciques  and  subjects 
all  assured  him  of  the  gold-bearing  region  in  the  interior  and  of 
other  districts  rich  in  gold,  so  that  he  felt  assured  of  meeting  the 
views  of  the  sovereigns  and  of  redeeming  the  Holy  Land  ;  and 
he  audibly  exclaimed  in  his  ardor,  "  May  our  Lord  in  His  great 
mercy  aid  me  in  finding  that  gold."  * 

The  fleet  set  sail  on  the  morning  of  December  24th  from  Port 
St.  Thomas  for  the  harbor  of  the  great  cacique,  Guacanagari, 
and  had  reached  within  a  league  and  a  half  of  the  place  when 
Columbus,  who  had  seldom  slept  and  had  kept  incessant  watch 
almost  all  the  day  and  night,  was  forced  by  exhaustion  to  retire 
to  his  cabin  and  throw  himself  with  his  clothes  on  upon  his  bed 
for  a  short  sleep.  A  steersman  was  left  in  charge  of  the  helm, 
and  the  admiral  felt  perfectly  secure,  as  the  weather  and  sea 
were  calm.  The  visitors  to  Guacanagari  had  reported  to  him 
there  were  no  rocks  nor  shoals  in  or  near  the  harbor.  "  For  two 
consecutive  days  and  the  preceding  night,"  says  De  Lorgues, 
"  the  concourse  of  the  natives,  the  presents  to  be  given  and  re 
ceived,  the  exchanges  to  be  watched  over,  the  questions  to  be 
put  to  interpreters,  and  their  answers,  the  classifying  and  preser 
vation  of  the  different  productions  of  these  countries,  which  he 
wished  to  take  to  Castile,  his  religious  exercises,  and  the  multi 
plied  cares  of  the  command,  did  not  yield  him  a  single  minute 
for  rest."  Throughout  the  voyage  he  had  ordered  that  the 
helm  should  never  be  entrusted  to  boys  or  novices,  and  on  this 
occasion  he  left  a  steersman  at  the  helm.  Scarcely  had  the 
admiral  retired  to  his  room  when  the  steersman  abandoned  his 


*  Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  p.  192. 


196  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

post  to  a  boy,  and  he  and  the  other  mariners  who  had  the  watch 
all  retired  to  sleep.  The  boy  left  at  the  helm  also  fell  asleep. 
The  Santa  Maria,  the  admiral's  own  ship,  thus  left  to  herself, 
was  drifted  by  the  currents  against  a  sand-bank.  Though  the 
roaring  of  the  breakers  was  heard  a  league  off,  it  failed  to  awake 
the  sleeping  crew.  The  cabin  boy  gave  the  alarm.  The  admiral 
was  the  first  to  reach  deck.  A  boat  was  let  down  by  his  orders 
to  carry  out  an  anchor  astern  and  warp  the  ship,  but  instead  of 
executing  his  order,  the  master  and  men  of  the  boat  deserted,  and 
went  to  the  Nina  for  shelter.  Refused  admission  on  the  Nina, 
these  deserters  had  to  return  to  the  caravel  ;  but  the  boat  of  the 
Nina  reached  her  first.  The  admiral,  seeing  himself  deserted, 
ordered  his  mast  cut  down  in  order  to  lighten  his  ship,  but  he 
had  not  men  enough  to  execute  the  order.  The  ship  had  swung 
across  the  stream,  was  leaning  on  one  side,  and  the  water  gain 
ing  upon  her.  He  and  his  remaining  crew  had  to  abandon  the 
Santa  Maria  and  take  shelter  on  the  Nina.  The  sea  broke  over 
the  former,  her  seams  opened,  and  though  she  did  not  sink,  she 
was  a  wreck.  At  daybreak  the  admiral  sent  word  of  his  dis 
aster  to  the  chief,  Guacanagari,  who  was  moved  to  tears  by  the 
disaster  to  his  new  friends,  and  immediately  sent  all  his  people 
with  their  canoes  to  aid  in  saving  the  provisions  and  property 
on  board  the  stranded  ship.  In  a  few  hours  she  was  unloaded, 
and  the  chief  gave  the  admiral  three  large  buildings  for  the 
storage  of  his  effects.  During  the  progress  of  the  work  he  sent 
repeated  messages  of  sympathy  to  the  admiral.  Indian  guards 
were  placed  about  the  buildings,  and,  to  the  credit  of  these 
untaught  children  of  nature,  not  a  thing  was  lost  or  stolen. 
Columbus  consoled  himself  with  the  thought  that  it  was  the  will 
of  God  he  should  remain  here.  The  sympathy  and  hospitality 
he  and  his  men  received  from  the  cacique  and  his  tribe  were 
most  generous,  and  they  were  delicately  bestowed.  Columbus 
was  moved  to  admiration  for  their  goodness,  for  the  cacique  had 
placed  all  he  possessed  at  his  disposal.  Well  has  Mr.  Irving  said  : 
"  Never,  in  a  civilized  country,  were  the  vaunted  rites  of  hos 
pitality  more  scrupulously  observed  than  by  this  uncultivated 
savage."  Guacanagari  and  his  people  were  delighted  to  have 
the  Spaniards  settle  in  their  dominions.  Columbus  wrote  in  his 
journal,  "  There  is  not  in  the  world  a  better  nation  nor  a  better 
land." 


ON    COLUMBUS.  197 

The  good  and  amiable  cacique  visited  Columbus  on  the  Nina 
on  December  26th,  and  was  moved  to  tears  when  he  saw  the 
great  admiral  looking  dejected.  He  offered  more  houses  for  the 
accommodation  of  his  goods  and  his  men,  and  indeed  offered 
everything  he  possessed.  The  stream  of  visitors  still  poured  in 
from  all  the  country,  and  considerable  quantities  of  gold  were 
acquired  by  barter  and  presents.  When  the  cacique  saw  the 
pleasure  the  gold  gave  the  admiral,  he  renewed  the  assurances 
that  great  quantities  of  gold  could  be  procured  at  Cibao,  in  the 
interior,  and  the  admiral,  delighted  at  the  quantities  of  gold  re 
ported  by  his  men  as  constantly  coming  in  from  the  natives,  and 
at  the  assurances  of  the  cacique,  felt  confident  that  he  should  soon 
find  the  much-sought  Cipango.  The  natives  freely  exchanged 
their  trinkets  of  gold  for  trifles,  and  nothing  could  exceed  their 
delight  when  they  found  the  hawks'  bells  resounding  to  the 
measure  of  their  dances.  The  Indian  king  and  the  admiral  enter 
tained  each  other  with  generous  hospitality,  and  their  friendship 
strengthened  every  day.  The  feast  given  by  the  cacique  was 
worthy  of  a  prince  in  its  abundance  and  the  choiceness  of  the 
varied  foods,  for  it  consisted  of  utias  or  coneys,  fish,  roots,  and 
a  variety  of  fruits.  The  prince  delighted  the  admiral  also  by  his 
courtly  and  royal  manners.  The  entertainment  was  followed  by 
the  national  games  and  dances,  performed  by  a  thousand  naked 
Indians  in  the  beautiful  groves  surrounding  the  cacique's  resi 
dence.  These  were  succeeded  in  turn,  by  the  orders  of  the  ad 
miral,  with  the  exercises  of  the  Moorish  bow  and  arrow,  per 
formed  by  the  Spaniards,  which  greatly  delighted  the  chief  and 
his  people  ;  but  when  Columbus  had  the  Lombard  cannon  and 
arquebus  discharged,  the  Indians  fell  upon  their  faces  with  fear, 
and  were  dismayed  at  the  havoc  the  balls  made  with  the  trees 
they  struck  and  shivered.  Columbus  assured  the  Indians  and 
their  chief  that  he  would  use  these  weapons  for  defending  them 
against  the  attacks  of  their  dreaded  enemies,  the  Caribs,  and 
they  were  transported  with  delight  at  being  thus  taken  under 
the  protection  of  these  children  of  heaven.  The  chief  distributed 
presents  among  the  Spaniards  with  princely  grace  and  gener 
osity,  and  the  Indians  received  the  trifles  the  admiral  gave  them 
in  return  with  a  delight  which  showed  that  they  regarded  them 
as  gifts  from  heaven.  The  life  of  these  Indians  was  simple  and 
happy  beyond  description.  In  that  mild  climate  clothing  was 


198  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

unnecessary,  and  Las  Casas  describes  them  as  living  in  a  state 
of  primitive  innocence.  Labor  was  unnecessary,  as  the  bountiful 
earth  yielded  them  spontaneously  the  most  unstinted  abundance 
of  all  they  needed.  Above  all,  they  were  contented  and  happy. 
Even  the  great  admiral  of  the  seas  drew  consolation  in  his  dis 
aster  from  the  sympathy  of  the  barbarian  chief.  The  Spaniards 
mingled  freely  with  the  natives,  were  charmed  with  the  relaxations 
and  indulgences  now  enjoyed  by  them,  and  many  petitioned  the 
admiral  to  allow  them  to  remain  behind  when  he  should  re 
turn  to  Spain.  In  his  own  personal  intercourse  with  the  ca 
cique  and  his  subjects,  Columbus  was  a  model  of  propriety  and 
honor. 

The  scientific  attainments  of  the  admiral  were  now  successfully 
called  into  requisition  in  the  planning  and  erection  of  a  fort  or 
fortlet  with  the  wreck  of  the  Santa  Maria.  It  was  a  small, 
square  castle,  with  bastions  at  the  angles,  and  its  erection  was 
the  joint  work  of  the  Spanish  mariners  and  of  the  Indians  under 
the  personal  direction  of  Columbus.  Guacanagari  and  his  sub 
jects  were  delighted  at  the  prospect  of  having  this  work  of  de 
fence  against  the  Caribs,  of  having  it  manned  with  the  ironclad 
soldiers  from  heaven,  and  at  looking  forward  to  future  visits  of 
the  admiral  with  new  ships  and  fresh  supplies  of  beads  and 
hawks'  bells.  They  worked  on  the  fortress  with  a  hearty  good 
will,  "  little  dreaming,"  says  Irving,  "  that  they  were  assisting 
to  place  on  their  necks  the  galling  yoke  of  perpetual  and  toilsome 
slavery." 

Columbus  was  now  forced  to  decide  upon  his  immediate  future 
course.  A  vessel  like  the  Nina  was  reported  to  have  been  seen 
off  the  eastern  end  of  the  island  by  the  Indians.  The  ever-san 
guine  admiral  was  sure  this  was  the  Pinta,  and  he  sent  a  large 
canoe  manned  by  Indian  oarsmen  and  commanded  by  a  Spanish 
seaman  to  find  the  erring  Pinzon  and  deliver  to  him  a  letter, 
which  was  couched  in  terms  of  mildness  and  conciliation,  and 
urging  him  to  join  his  command  immediately.  A  three-days' 
search  resulted  in  finding  no  such  ship,  and  the  admiral  saw  him 
self  and  all  his  men,  his  specimens  from  the  new  world,  the 
Indians  on  board,  destined  to  be  carried  to  Spain,  his  gold  and 
other  treasures,  and  the  very  record  of  his  great  discovery,  all 
subjected  to  the  risk  of  utter  loss  on  a  return  trip  to  Spain  with 


ON   COLUMBUS.  199 

a  single  ship.  The  desertion  of  Pinzon  and  the  wrecking  of 
the  Santa  Maria  compelled  him  to  abandon  his  plans  for  prose 
cuting  his  explorations  and  discoveries  of  the  new  countries  lying 
within  his  very  grasp.  He  resolved  to  return  to  Spain.  While 
building  the  fort,  streams  of  visitors  came  to  the  site,  including 
Guacanagari,  the  chief  cacique,  several  of  his  tributary  caciques 
and  their  tribes  in  great  numbers.  The  great  cacique  never 
wearied  of  entertaining  and  honoring  the  admiral,  treating  him 
and  his  companions  with  unbounded  hospitality  and  honor,  and 
among  the  many  delicate  attentions  which  he  paid  the  celestial 
chief,  one  was  on  the  occasion  when  Guacanagari,  attended  by 
five  inferior  caciques,  all  wearing  coronets  of  gold,  received  the 
admiral  with  distinguished  honor,  and,  seating  him  in  a  chair  of 
state,  took  the  coronet  of  gold  from  his  own  head  and  placed  it 
on  that  of  Columbus.  Little  did  he  suspect  that  this  courteous 
.act  was  emblematic  of  the  transfer  of  dominion  over  the  new 
world  from  its  aboriginal  rulers  and  owners  to  the  European 
race.  Streams  of  gold  poured  in,  and  Columbus  felt  consoled  at 
the  prospect  of  meeting  the  expectations  of  his  royal  patrons  at 
home.  Indeed,  it  was  with  the  hope  of  establishing  a  trade  in 
gold  that  he  determined  to  leave  a  Spanish  colony  behind  him. 
Already  he  had,  by  traffic  with  the  natives,  amassed  a  good 
quantity  of  the  precious  metal  for  the  home  government  and  for 
his  own  share,  the  latter  of  which  was  to  be  appropriated  to  the 
recovery  of  the  holy  sepulchre. 

To  the  fortress,  which  was  now  finished,  he  gave  the  name  of 
La  Navidad,  in  honor  of  the  Saviour's  birth,  and  from  the  many 
volunteers  who  offered  themselves,  he  selected  nine  of  the  stout 
est  and  best  men  in  his  service,  including  a  physician,  ship-car 
penter,  calker,  cooper,  tailor,  and  gunner,  and  placed  the  garri 
son  under  the  command  of  Diego  de  Arana,  of  Cordova,  a  near 
relative  of  his  wife,  who  was  also  the  notary  and  alguacil  of  the 
expedition.  He  gave  the  colony,  or  rather  the  garrison,  the 
long  boat  of  the  Santa  Maria,  to  be  used  for  fishing  ;  also  medi 
cines,  seeds  for  planting,  and  a  large  quantity  of  merchandise  for 
traffic  with  the  natives  in  exchange  for  gold.  He  also  left  with 
them  utensils  of  every  kind,  a  year's  supply  of  biscuits,  some 
wine,  and  a  supply  of  arms  and  artillery.  He  established  thor 
ough  discipline  in  the  garrison,  and  he  endeavored  to  inspire 


200  OLD    AND    NEW    LICIITS 

them  with  his  own  noble  and  lofty  sentiments.  Truly  was  this 
the  advance-guard  of  European  civilization  in  the  new  world  ! 
Would  that  they  had  proved  worthy  of  such  a  rank  ! 

In  the  mean  time,  all  things  were  set  in  order  on  board  the  Nina 
for  the  return  voyage — a  voyage  scarcely  less  momentous,  con 
sidering  that  the  outfit  had  now  been  reduced  from  three  ships 
to  a  single  caravel,  than  the  first  outward  voyage  of  discovery. 
Might  not  the  garrison  perish  on  land,  and  the  admiral  and  all 
his  men  and  his  only  ship  perish  at  sea,  and  the  world  become 
convinced  that  the  Western  Hemisphere  was  an  empty  vision 
and  a  delusive  dream  ! 

Before  taking  leave  of  his  colony,  this  first  hope  of  their 
country  and  race,  he  provided  most  amply  and  even  tenderly 
for  them  and  for  their  every  want.  They  had  a  fort  capable  of 
resisting  any  attack  of  the  Caribs,  however  numerous,  ample  pro 
visions,  were  surrounded  by  a  friendly  and  admiring  people,  and 
under  the  protection  of  a  noble  and  generous  cacique.  They 
could  not  have  been  in  better  condition  for  continuing  the  great 
and  exalted  work  of  Columbus,  until  his  return  with  reinforce 
ments  of  men,  ships,  colonists,  and  all  the  appliances  of  European 
colonization.  The  fortress  of  La  Navidad  is  supposed  to  have 
been  located  near  Haut  de  Cap  ;  the  capital  of  Guacanagari, 
called  Guarico,  was  where  the  village  of  Petite  Anse  now  stands. 
Columbus  assembled  his  garrison  and  made  them  an  address, 
which  was  a  model  of  great  thoughts  eloquently  expressed,  of 
high  aims,  of  noble  purposes,  of  wise  forethought,  profound 
sagacity,  and  of  honorable  and  conscientious  principles  and  con 
duct.  He  impressed  upon  them  the  glorious  object  of  the  dis 
covery,  the  propagation  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  he  besought 
them,  by  studying  the  Indian  language,  to  qualify  themselves  to 
instruct  the  natives  in  Christian  doctrine.  In  the  name  and  by 
the  authority  of  the  sovereigns  he  commanded  the  men  to  obey 
their  officers,  to  maintain  the  utmost  respect  for  Guacanagari, 
their  best  friend,  and  maintain  good  and  honorable  relations  with 
him,  his  tributary  chiefs,  and  all  his  subjects,  and,  above  all,  to 
observe  the  most  rigorous  continence  in  regard  to  the  Indian 
women  ;  to  maintain  friendly  relations  with  all  the  Indians,  to 
remain  within  Guacanagari's  domains,  not  to  scatter,  but  to- 
sleep  always  at  night  in  the  castle  ;  to  explore  the  mineral  and 
other  resources  of  the  country,  to  look  out  for  another  and  better 


ON   COLUMBUS.  2OI 

place  of  settlement  by  the  time  of  his  return,  and  in  general  to 
maintain  the  honor  of  their  nation' and  their  faith.* 

Columbus  went  on  shore  from  his  ship  on  January  2d,  1493, 
and  took  a  deeply  felt  and  impressive  farewell  of  his  generous 
friend,  Guacanagari,  his  chieftains,  and  his  people.  He  invited 
them  to  a  parting  feast,  which  was  served  at  one  of  the  houses 
occupied  by  the  Spaniards  ;  he  gave  the  great  chief  presents, 
which  he  prized  above  all  others,  a  new  shirt,  put  a  collar  of 
gems  on  his  neck,  a  scarlet  mantle  on  his  shoulders,  red  bus 
kins  on  his  feet,  a  ring  of  silver  on  his  finger,  and  embraced 
him  with  such  deep  and  generous  good-will  that  the  noble 
cacique  was  bathed  in  his  own  tears.  He  commended  to  the 
cacique's  generous  friendship  the  Spaniards  he  was  about  to 
leave  behind,  particularly  Diego  de  Arana,  Pedro  Gutierrez,  and 
Rodrigo  de  Escobedo,  his  lieutenants.  The  admiral  assured  the 
cacique  that  he  would,  on  his  return  to  Hispaniola,  bring  him 
presents  worthy  of  his  rank  and  virtues.  The  cacique  exceeded 
all  the  admiral's  wishes  in  the  extent  of  his  generous  promises 
of  provisions  and  services  to  the  garrison,  and  expressed  the 
utmost  sorrow  at  his  departure.  Columbus  then  caused  his  men 
to  give  a  fine  display  of  skirmishes  and  mock  fights  in  order  to 
impress  the  minds  of  the  Indians  with  the  military  skill  and 
power  of  the  Spaniards.  The  Indians  were  overwhelmed  with 
terror  mingled  with  admiration,  and  would  have  shrunk  from 
such  destructive  engines  but  for  the  thought  that  they  were  to 
be  used  for  their  protection.  After  the  parting  between  Colum 
bus  and  the  cacique,  the  separation  between  the  departing  Span 
iards  and  those  who  were  to  remain  behind  followed,  and  was 
truly  affecting  ;  but  the  hope  of  soon  meeting  again  inspired  the 
hearts  of  all.  Columbus  sailed  from  La  Navidad  on  his  first  re 
turn  voyage  from  the  new  world  to  Spain,  on  January  4th,  1493. 
He  had  most  assiduously  secured  and  stored  away  on  the  Nina 
specimens  of  all  the  productions  of  the  countries  he  had  discov 
ered,  including  a  considerable  quantity  of  gold  and  a  number  of 
the  natives,  the  latter  being  destined  to  return  to  their  people  as 
Christian  interpreters  and  instructors. 

After  two  days'  sailing  in  an  easterly  direction  toward  a  lofty 


*  Herrera  ;  Munos  ;  Navarrete  ;    "  Hist,  del  Almirante;"  Irving's  "  Life  of  Colum 
bus  ;"  Barry's  De  Lorgues,  "  Columbus." 


2O2  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

promontory,  which  Columbus  named  Monte  Christi,  the  Pinta 
was  discerned  in  the  distance, -and  soon  the  deserter  came  bear 
ing  down  toward  the  Nina,  and  on  joining  company  Martin 
Alonzo  Pinzon  came  on  board  the  Nina  and  made  many  excuses 
to  the  admiral  for  his  conduct,  which,  however,  were  either  con 
tradictory  or  purely  false.  Columbus  prudently  refrained  from 
reproaches,  as  the  two  remaining  vessels  were  still  commanded 
by  the  Pinzon  brothers,  and  many  of  their  relatives  and  friends 
were  in  the  crews  ;  he  was,  in  fact,  somewhat  in  their  power 
stilL  Pinzon  had  availed  himself  of  the  superior  speed  of  his 
ship,  though  delayed  some  time  among  the  entanglements  of  the 
Caicos  Islands,  and  had  reached  the  gold-bearing  regions  of 
Hispaniola,  where  he  had  collected  much  gold,  retaining  half  for 
himself  as  captain  and  dividing  the  other  half  among  his  men  to 
secure  their  support  and  secrecy.  But  Columbus  succeeded, 
notwithstanding,  in  getting  these  particulars,  and,  as  he  dis 
trusted  the  Pinzons  on  account  of  their  unworthy  conduct,  he 
abandoned  his  wish  to  continue  a  while  longer  with  the  two  ships 
to  explore  the  islands  and  countries  of  the  ne\v  world,  and  re 
solved  to  return  to  Spain  immediately. 

Though  Pinzon  had  concealed  the  details  of  his  conduct, 
Columbus  learned  of  them.  His  misconduct  in  appropriating 
the  gold  to  his  own  and  the  use  of  his  crew  was  a  flagrant  viola 
tion  of  the  orders  of  the  sovereigns  and  of  the  fundamental  law 
of  the  expedition.  De  Lorgues,  in  speaking  of  his  wise  suppres 
sion  of  his  indignation  at  the  conduct  of  Pinzon,  says  :  ' '  He  be 
came  resigned,  and  sacrificed  his  self-love,  his  sense  of  justice, 
his  personal  dignity  to  a  duty  which  was  of  still  greater  impor 
tance  than  his  rights." 

The  admiral  sent  to  a  large  and  neighboring  river  for  wood 
and  water,  and  the  stream,  from  the  particles  of  gold  seen  in  its 
sands,  he  called  Rio  del  Oro,  or  River  of  Gold.  He  also  men 
tions  having  seen  in  this  vicinity  large  turtles,  and  goes  on  in  his 
journal  to  state  that  here  also  he  saw  three  mermaids,  which 
elevated  themselves  above  the  water,  and  resembled  those  he 
had  seen  on  the  coast  of  Africa  ;  but  though  retaining  traces  of 
the  human  features,  they  were  by  no  means  "  the  beautiful 
beings  they  had  been  represented  to  be."*  Continuing  his 

*  Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  p.  199;  Irving' s  "  Columbus,"  p.  231;   "Journal 
of  Columbus." 


ON   COLUMBUS.  203 

course,  he  reached,  on  the  evening  of  January  9th,  "  the  river 
where  Pinzon  had  been  trading,  and  here,  on  the  complaint  of 
the  natives,  he  released  with  presents  four  Indian  men  and  two 
girls,  whom  Pinzon  had  seized  and  had  concealed  in  his  ship  with 
the  intention  of  carrying  them  to  Spain  and  selling  them  as 
slaves.  Pinzon  submitted  unwillingly  to  this  act  of  justice,  but 
was  outspoken  in  his  language  to  the  admiral.  The  river  he 
called  Rio  de  Gracia,  but  it  retained  its  name  of  Martin  Alonzo, 
after  its  discoverer.  With  a  favorable  wind  Columbus  reached 
a  beautiful  and  elevated  headland,  which  he  called  Capo  del 
Enamorado,  or  Lover's  Cape,  now  Cape  Cabron,  and  still  further 
on  he  found  the  natives  warlike  and  hostile,  well  armed  with  a 
powerful  and  hard  wooden  sword  and  other  formidable  weapons, 
and  treacherous.  Columbus  sent  a  party  of  armed  Spaniards  on 
shore,  after  he  had  feasted  one  of  these  warriors  and  sent  him 
back  delighted  to  his  people,  but  this  warlike  people  treacher 
ously  attacked  the  Spaniards,  who  immediately  formed  and 
advanced  upon  their  assailants,  killing  two  and  putting  the  re 
mainder  to  flight.  Columbus  deeply  lamented  this  first  contest 
with  the  natives  and  first  shedding  of  native  blood  by  Europeans 
in  the  new  world  ;  but  on  the  following  day  these  warlike  natives 
and  their  chief  made  amicable  approaches,  which  the  admiral 
encouraged,  and  which  resulted  in  a  friendly  visit  to  the  caravel, 
an  entertainment,  the  bestowal  of  presents,  and  the  establishment 
of  friendly  relations  between  the  new  world  and  the  old  once 
more.  The  native  warriors  seemed  to  have  admired  the  superior 
prowess  of  their  antagonists,  and  treasured  no  resentment  for 
the  defeat  of  the  day  before. 

Having  resolved  to  return  immediately  to  Spain  and  forego 
his  desire  for  further  explorations  and  discoveries,  the  remainder 
of  January  was  lost  in  waiting  daily  for  a  favorable  wind.  It 
was  not  until  the  early  part  of  February  that  he  could  avail  him 
self  of  a  breeze  on  which  to  sail  directly  for  Spain.  In  the  mean 
time,  he  had  endeavored  to  find  and  visit  the  Caribs  and  carry 
one  or  two  of  them  to  Spain,  and  to  remove  his  doubts  as  to  the 
existence  of  such  beings  as  cannibals  ;  but  he  did  not  succeed  in 
finding  them.  He  had  no  better  success  in  finding  another 
island  mentioned  to  him  by  the  natives  and  called  "  Matinino," 
and  which  was  represented  to  be  inhabited  by  armed  women 


2O4  OLD    AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

alone,  without  any  men,  and  which  reminded  him  of  the  fabulous 
Amazons  of  old.  Now  finally  the  prows  were  turned  to  the  east 
and  to  home.  The  homeward  voyage  was  overtaken  by  the 
most  violent  storms,  which  tested  the  utmost  skill  of  the  admiral 
and  his  mariners  to  keep  the  ships  from  sinking.  At  his  sugges 
tion  all  on  board  the  ships  promised  that  three  pilgrimages  should 
be  vowed  to  heaven  for  their  safe  deliverance  :  one,  to  be  per 
formed  by  the  person  drawing  the  lot,  to  be  made  to  the  shrine 
of  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe,  bearing  a  wax  taper  weighing  five 
pounds.  This  was  drawn  by  the  admiral.  As  the  storm  con 
tinued,  another  lot  was  drawn  to  determine  who  should  make  a 
pilgrimage  to  the  chapel  of  Our  Lady  of  Loretto,  in  the  Pontifical 
States,  and  this  fell  to  a  sailor  named  Pedro  Villa  ;  but  as  he  was 
too  poor  to  bear  the  expense  of  the  journey,  the  admiral  agreed 
to  bear  his  expenses.  Now  again,  as  the  storm  grew  still  fiercer, 
a  third  lot  was  drawn  to  determine  who  should  make  a  pilgrim 
age  to  the  church  of  Santa  Clara,  at  Moguer,  and  again  the  lot 
fell  to  Columbus.  He  religiously  and  devoutly  performed  his 
vows  on  reaching  Spain.  But,  notwithstanding  their  prayers 
and  vows,  the  storm  grew  so  violent  as  to  cause  all  to  despair  ; 
not  only  the  sailors,  but  even  the  admiral,  that  man  of  faith, 
gave  up  all  for  lost,  though  he  accepted  all  things  as  the  will  of 
God.  The  Pinta  had  disappeared,  and  was  believed  to  have 
foundered  in  the  storm.  His  hopes  gave  way.  A  prey  to  the 
most  tumultuous  thoughts,  he  felt  that  all  was  gone  ;  that  he 
would  never  reach  Spain  to  report  his  discovery,  the  knowledge 
of  which  would  be  buried  with  himself  and  his  men  in  the  ocean  ; 
that  he  would  never  see  his  two  sons  again  ;  that  they  would  be 
taunted  with  the  wild  adventure  and  failure  of  their  father,  and 
that  sacrifices  and  sufferings  such  as  no  man  had  suffered  would 
all  go  for  naught.  With  faltering  step  he  reached  his  cabin,  and 
with  a  hand  yet  firm  he  wrote  a  brief  account  of  his  discoveries 
on  parchment  ;  this  he  sealed  and  directed  to  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  and  promised  a  thousand  ducats  to  the  person  who 
should  deliver  it  to  the  sovereigns  unopened  ;  he  then  wrapped  it 
in  a  waxed  cloth,  placed  it  in  the  centre  of  a  cake  of  wax,  and 
enclosing  the  whole  in  a  barrel,  threw  it  into  the  sea,  leaving  the 
crews  to  suppose  he  was  making  another  vow  for  the  safety  of 
the  return  voyage.  A  duplicate  was  made  and  placed  upon  the 


ON   COLUMBUS.  205 

poop,  so  that,  in  case  the  vessel  sunk,  the  barrel  would  float  on 
the  sea  and  reach  the  shores  of  Europe.* 

His  mind  was  now  more  at  rest.  If  he  perished,  his  discovery 
and  his  fame  might  survive  ;  but  on  February  i4th  the  skies 
brightened  ;  on  the  I5th,  though  the  sea  was  rough,  the  skies  were 
brighter,  and,  to  the  joy  of  all,  land  was  descried.  '  The  trans 
ports  of  the  crew,"  says  Mr.  Irving,  "  at  once  more  gaining  sight 
of  the  old  world,  were  almost  equal  to  those  experienced  at  first 
beholding  the  new."  The  pilots  thought  they  were  off  the  coast 
of  Castile,  but  the  superior  skill  of  Columbus  enabled  him  more 
correctly  to  say  they  were  approaching  the  Azores.  The  ad 
miral  was  almost  wrecked  in  health.  Though  nearly  paralyzed 
with  gout,  he  had  remained  four  days  and  nights  on  deck  amid 
the  storm,  drenched  with  rains  and  tossed  by  the  waves  ;  now, 
almost  disabled  and  inactive,  he  was  compelled  to  retire  to  his 
bed  for  rest.  It  was  not  until  February  i/th  that  he  reached  the 
land  at  Santa  Maria,  the  most  southern  of  the  Azores,  one  of  the 
possessions  of  Portugal.  The  astonishment  of  the  inhabitants 
was  great,  but  it  was  beyond  bounds  when  they  were  told  whence 
the  strangers  had  come — that  they  had  reached  Asia  across  the 
Atlantic,  and  had  discovered  the  Indies.  Remembering  the  vow 
to  be  performed  at  the  first  landing-place  they  should  reach,  the 
admiral  sent  one  half  the  men  on  shore,  who  procured  a  priest 
to  say  mass  for  them  at  the  chapel  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  near  by, 
while  the  pilgrims  walked  from  the  shore  to  the  shrine  in  pro 
cession,  barefooted  and  in  their  shirts  ;  the  admiral  and  the  re 
mainder  of  the  men  stayed  in  the  ships,  intending  to  make  their 
pilgrimage  in  like  manner  next  day.  Castaneda,  the  Portuguese 
governor,  treacherously  surrounded  the  chapel  and  made  all  the 
pilgrims  prisoners.  His  object  was  to  seize  the  admiral,  acting 
under  the  orders  of  the  Portuguese  Government,  and  it  was 
fortunate  that  his  pilgrimage  was  set  for  the  following  day. 
Finding  himself  foiled  in  the  attempt  to  get  possession  of  Colum 
bus,  he  returned  the  prisoners  to  their  ships,  while  the  admiral 
from  his  deck  reproached  the  treacherous  official  for  his  base 
conduct.  It  was  thus,  as  we  have  seen  in  these  pages,  that  the 
first  of  Europeans  were  received  with  joy  and  hospitality  by  the 


*  Barry's    De   Lorgues*   "Columbus,"  p.   206;    "Hist,  del    Almirante,"   cap.    36? 
Irving's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  243. 


200"  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

far-off  and  heathen  natives  of  an  unknown  world  on  reaching  the 
Western  Hemisphere,  while  on  returning  to  their  own,  the  East 
ern  Hemisphere,  from  which  they  had  sailed,  conquerors,  dis 
coverers,  and  missionaries  of  Christianity,  and  while  lifting  up 
their  voices  in  praise  and  thanks  to  God  for  their  safety,  they 
were  treacherously  betrayed  by  a  kindred  race,  their  fellow- Chris 
tians.  While  few  men  ever  reaped  such  glory  as  did  Columbus, 
history  discloses  no  one  who  ever  experienced  more  of  the  base 
ness  of  his  fellow-men  than  he.  Thus  does  the  history  of  the 
world  seem  to  vibrate  between  glory  and  shame  ! 

Columbus  rejoiced  on  February  24th  at  being  once  more  at 
sea,  and  with  thanksgiving  he  turned  his  ship  toward  the 
coveted  shores  of  Spain  ;  but  the  little  fleet  was  again  overtaken 
with  a  violent  storm,  and  on  the  2/th  they  seemed  at  the  very 
point  of  shipwreck.  Even  the  fortitude  of  Columbus  was  scarcely 
equal  to  such  repeated  misfortunes.  Again  the  crews  resorted 
to  vows  in  securing  the  intervention  of  Heaven  for  their  safety, 
and  every  man  on  board  promised  to  fast  on  bread  and  water  on 
the  first  Saturday  after  their  arrival  in  port.  Again  the  storm 
seemed  to  redouble  its  fury,  and  at  midnight  on  Saturday,  March 
2d,  the  caravel  was  struck  by  a  storm  with  overpowering  vio 
lence,  tearing  her  sails  to  pieces  and  compelling  her  to  scud 
under  bare  poles,  and  threatening  her  with  immediate  destruc 
tion.  Now  again  their  only  hope  was  an  appeal  to  Heaven,  and 
a  lot  was  cast  for  the  performance  of  a  pilgrimage,  with  bare 
feet,  to  the  shrine  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Cueva,  in  Huelva.  The 
lot  was  again  drawn  by  the  admiral,  for  he  was  ever  a  willing 
pilgrim  ;  though  Las  Casas,  commenting  on  the  singular  fre 
quency  with  which  the  lot  fell  to  him,  suggests  that  Providence 
intended  these  frequent  disasters  to  humble  the  admiral's  pride 
and  to  prevent  him  from  arrogating  to  himself  the  glory  of  dis 
coveries  which  belonged  to  God,  and  of  which  he  was  only  the 
instrument.  Columbus  was  himself  religiously  well  inclined  to 
apply  to  his  own  soul  so  wholesome  and  chastening  a  counsel. 
Though  there  were  now  indications  of  land,  the  storm  was  in 
creasing  in  fury  ;  they  knew  not  where  they  were,  and  they  feared 
they  would  be  dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rocks.  On  the  morning 
of  March  4th,  at  daybreak,  they  were  off  the  rock  Cintra,  in  the 
mouth  of  the  Tagus,  again  within  the  domains  of  the  rival  sover 
eign,  the  treacherous  John  II.,  King  of  Portugal,  \vho  had  so 


ON   COLUMBUS.  2O/ 

recently  from  envy  ordered  the  Governor  of  St.  Mary's  Island, 
Azores,  to  seize  and  detain  the  returning  discoverers  of  a  new 
world.  But  the  storm  was  still  raging,  and  though  he  distrusted 
the  Portuguese  Government,  Columbus  had  no  alternative  but 
to  enter  the  port  for  safety.  He  and  his  crew  were  congratu 
lated  on  their  safe  arrival  by  the  inhabitants,  who,  when  they 
saw  the  peril  of  the  caravel,  had  flocked  to  the  church  with 
lighted  tapers  and  prayed  for  their  safe  deliverance.  Their 
escape  was  regarded  as  miraculous.  The  oldest  mariners  of  the 
place  told  Columbus  they  had  never  known  so  stormy  a  winter. 
He  ardently  contrasted  the  mild  weather  and  placid  waters  of 
Hispaniola  with  the  storms  of  the  Eastern  Hemisphere. 

Having  despatched  a  messenger  to  Spain  with  tidings  of  his 
discovery,  he  wrote  a  letter  to  the  King  of  Portugal  requesting 
permission  to  gd  with  his  vessel  to  Lisbon  for  its  safety,  for  the 
report  was  circulated  that  she  was  richly  freighted  with  gold 
and  other  treasure,  and  he  felt  unsafe  from  attack  on  the  Tagus, 
assuring  the  king  that  he  had  not  been  to  the  coast  of  Guinea  or 
other  Portuguese  colonies,  but  that  he  had  discovered,  by  a 
western  voyage,  and  just  returned  from,  Cipango  and  the  extreme 
provinces  of  India.  The  marvellous  news  now  spread  far  and 
near,  and  the  Nina  was  visited  by  throngs  of  people  of  every 
grade,  cavaliers  and  officers  of  the  crown,  as  well  as  the  common 
people,  all  eager  to  listen  to  the  startling  accounts  of  the  admiral. 
Varied  effects  were  produced  on  his  different  visitors  by  the 
marvellous  words  of  Columbus — admiration,  envy,  cupidity, 
curiosity,  enthusiasm,  and  distrust.  The  king  invited  him  to 
court,  then  being  held  at  Valparaiso,  nine  leagues  from  Lisbon, 
and  though  he  distrusted  his  good  faith,  Columbus  thought  it 
best  to  go  and  conceal  his  distrust,  as  he  was  already  in  the  king's 
dominions.  He  was  received  by  king  and  cavaliers  with  every 
honor,  and  though  he  congratulated  the  admiral,  the  king  ex 
pressed  his  apprehensions  that  the  discovery  belonged  to  Por 
tugal  agreeably  to  the  capitulations  of  1479  with  the  Castilian 
monarchs,  and  thought  Columbus  may  have  found  a  short  route 
to  the  very  countries  he  was  himself  endeavoring  to  find,  and 
which  the  Papal  bull  had  conceded  to  Portugal.  The  Portu 
guese  councillors,  who,  twenty  years  before,  had  scoffed  at  Colum 
bus  and  his  proposals  to  the  crown  of  Portugal,  endeavored  to 
confirm  the  king's  suggestions  ;  they  suggested  that  Columbus 


208  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

was  insulting  Portugal  by  entering  it  as  if  in  triumph  ;  that  he 
had  encroached  upon  the  conceded  discoveries  and  claims  of 
Portugal  ;  that  he  was  haughty,  boastful,  and  actually  revenging 
himself  upon  the  king  for  rejecting  his  proposals.  They  went 
so  far  as  to  propose  his  assassination  !  They  counselled  the  king 
that  a  pretext  could  be  found  for  drawing  him  into  a  quarrel  ; 
that  he  could  thus  be  despatched  as  if  killed  in  an  honorable  and 
justifiable  contest.  Such  baseness  and  perfidy  seem  incredible  ; 
but  they  came  from  the  same  councillors  who  ten  years  before 
had  advised  the  King  of  Portugal  to  secretly  and  treacherously 
rob  Columbus  of  the  glory  of  his  discovery  by  sending  out  a 
secret  expedition,  guided  by  his  maps,  charts,  and  information, 
for  the  discovery  of  the  promised  western  lands.  The  king  was 
more  honorable  than  his  unworthy  councillors,  and  refused  to 
listen  to  their  treacherous  advice.  He  feignedly  gave  due  credit 
and  honor  to  Columbus.  The  council  next  suggested  his  being 
permitted  to  return  to  Spain,  and  before  he  could  make  another 
voyage  to  the  lands  he  had  discovered,  that  Portugal  should 
send  out  a  powerful  armament,  under  the  guidance  of  two  Portu 
guese  mariners,  who  had  sailed  with  Columbus,  and  seize  the 
lands  he  had  discovered,  and  maintain  their  ill-gotten  possession 
by  force.*  That  John  II.  should  have  consented  and  agreed  to 
this  nefarious  proposal  seems  scarcely  consistent  with  a  record 
not  undistinguished  for  uprightness  ;  but,  to  the  discredit  of  roy 
alty,  he  assented  to  it,  resolved  to  put  it  secretly  and  promptly 
into  execution,  and  he  decided  to  appoint  for  this  dishonest  ex 
pedition  a  distinguished  sea  captain,  Don  Francisco  de  Almeida. 
Columbus,  after  receiving  distinguished  honors  at  the  court  of 
Portugal,  prepared  to  sail  for  Palos  in  his  own  caravel,  prefer 
ring  this  to  the  trip  by  land,  which  was  proposed  to  him  by  King 
John,  with  offers  to  escort  him  honorably  to  the  frontier.  On  his 
way  to  the  caravel,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tagus,  escorted  by  Don 
Martin  de  Norona  and  a  large  retinue  of  cavaliers,  himself  and 
pilot  mounted  on  mules  provided  by  the  king,  he  stopped  at  the 
monastery  of  San  Antonio,  at  Villa  Zanca,  at  her  request  to  visit 
the  Portuguese  queen,  and  was  received  by  her  and  her  ladies  of 
honor  with  the  most  distinguished  honors.  The  king  presented 


*  Barry's  De  Lorgues"  "  Columbus,"  p.  215  ;  Las  Casas,  "  Hist.  Ind.,"lib.   i.,  cap 
74,  MS.  ;  Irving's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol  i.,  p.  257. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  2OQ 

the  admiral's  pilot  with  twenty  gold  ducats,  and  in  offering  to 
escort  himself  to  the  frontier,  ordered  that  horses,  lodgings,  and 
all  things  necessary  to  the  journey  be  provided  at  the  royal  ex 
pense.  But  Columbus  availed  himself  of  the  prevailing  fair 
weather,  sailed  from  the  Tagus  on  March  I3th,  arrived  at  Saltes 
at  sunrise  on  the  I5th,  and  at  mid-day  sailed  into  the  harbor  of 
Palos.  He  had  sailed  from  this  ancient  port  the  year  preceding, 
on  August  3d,  the  inventor  of  a  great  theory,  the  hope  of  Spain 
and  of  the  race,  the  scoffed-at  dreamer  of  new  worlds.  Now 
how  changed,  how  advanced,  was  the  condition  of  the  man  him 
self,  of  the  nation  and  sovereigns  that  had  befriended  him,  and  of 
the  civilized  world  !  For  by  his  genius  and  prowess  Europe  and 
Asia  were  about  to  embrace  each  other  across  the  oceans,  and 
midway  lay  the  newly  discovered  continents  of  a  new  world. 
The  last  eight  months  had  been  the  most  momentous  era  in  the 
history  of  mankind.  Prophecy  and  theory  had  now  become 
demonstration  and  history. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

"  Crown  the  brave  !  Crown  the  brave  ! 
As  through  your  streets  they  ride." 

— HEMANS. 

"  A  thousand  trumpets  ring  within  old  Barcelona's  walls, 
A  thousand  gallant  nobles  throng  in  Barcelona's  halls  ; 
All  meet  to  gaze  on  him  who  wrought  a  pathway  for  mankind, 
Through  seas  as  broad,  to  worlds  as  rich  as  his  triumphant  mind  ; 
And  king  and  queen  will  grace  forsooth  the  mariner's  array — 
The  lonely  seaman  scorned  and  scoffed  in  Palos  town  one  day  ! 
He  comes — he  comes  !  the  gates  swing  wide,  and  through  the  streets  advance 
His  cavalcade  in  proud  parade,  with  plume  and  pennoned  lance, 
And  natives  of  those  new-found  worlds,  and  treasures  all  untold, 
And  in  the  midst  the  admiral,  his  charger  trapped  with  gold  ; 
And  all  are  wild  with  joy,  and  blithe  the  gladsome  clarions  swell, 
And  dames  and  princes  meet  to  greet,  and  loud  the  myriads  yell ; 
They  cheer,  that  mob,  they  wildly  cheer — Columbus  checks  his  rein, 
And  bends  him  to  the  beauteous  dames  and  cavaliers  of  Spain." 

— G.  H.  SUPPLE. 

IF  the  civilized  world  was  electrified  at  the  announcement  that 
Columbus  had  returned  from  discovering  the  Western  continents, 
how  much  more  must  not  the  little  maritime  port  of  Palos  have 
been  moved  with  joy  and  exultation  when  the  great  discoverer 
and  his  veteran  mariners  returned  from  their  glorious  achieve 
ments  to  that  historic  place  !  Palos  had  sent  forth  the  little  fleet 
that  was  to  unite  the  unknown  parts  of  the  earth  ;  it  was  her  priv 
ilege  now  to  receive  back  again  the  triumphant  admiral  and  his 
crews,  discoverers  of  a  world  !  For  eight  long  months  and  more 
no  tidings  had  been  received  of  the  forlorn  hope,  and  the  people  of 
Palos  had  abandoned  all  expectation  of  seeing  their  brave  friends 
and  relatives  again — no  doubt  all  had  been  engulfed  in  the  Sea 
of  Darkness  or  devoured  by  the  monsters  of  the  deep.  Their 
joy  exceeded  all  bounds  when,  at  mid-day,  on  Friday,  August  3d, 
1493,  they  recognized  the  Nina  returning  in  triumph,  with  the 
flags  of  Castile  floating  from  her  masts.  The  Santa  Maria,  it  is 
true,  was  gone,  and  the  Pinta  had  not  been  heard  from  ;  but  the 


ON   COLUMBUS.  211 

admiral  was  there,  the  discoverer  in  fact  of  what  Plato  and  Aris 
totle  had  only  dreamed  of.  Spain  was  now  the  foremost  of  mari 
time  nations,  and  Palos  was  the  historic  port  !  The  whole  town 
broke  forth  in  transports  of  joy  and  exultation  ;  the  bells  rang 
forth  their  merriest  notes,  the  cannons  were  fired,  the  shops  were 
closed,  the  houses  were  festooned  in  gayest  drapery,  business 
was  suspended,  and  the  whole  population  turned  out  to  welcome 
the  greatest  of  discoverers  returning  in  triumph.  Scarcely  had 
the  admiral  and  his  men  landed,  when  the  entire  population 
formed  in  procession  and  marched  with  the  returning  heroes  to 
the  nearest  church  to  thank  God  for  the  success  of  so  momentous 
a  voyage.  Tf  Columbus  had  been  a  noted  king,  says  Robertson, 
he  could  not  have  received  greater  honors. 

In  the  midst  of  this  universal  joy,  in  which  the  people  of  the 
neighboring  towns  and  villages  were  pouring  in  to  participate, 
the  Pinta  entered  the  port  from  sea.  Martin  Alonzo  Pinzon, 
who  had  enjoyed  the  opportunity  of  ranking  almost  next  to 
Columbus,  was  disloyal  to  his  chief,  and  lost  all  in  grasping  for 
what  was  not  his  own.  Having  taken  shelter  in  the  Bay  of 
Biscay,  Pinzon,  thinking  that  the  Nina  with  the  admiral  and  all 
on  board  had  perished  in  the  storm,  had  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
sovereigns  giving  an  account  of  the  discovery,  and  claiming  it  as 
his  own.  He  asked  permission  to  go  to  court,  coveting,  no 
doubt,  the  ovation  which  belonged  to  Columbus,  and  which  was 
then  preparing  for  him.  When  he  entered  the  harbor  at  Palos, 
and  saw  the  Nina  riding  at  anchor,  and  heard  the  sounds  of 
triumph  accorded  to  Columbus,  his  heart  sank  within  him  ;  he 
stealthily  landed  from,  his  yawl,  avoiding  the  admiral  for  fear  of 
arrest,  and  concealed  himself  at  his  home  ;  but  when  a  reproach 
ful  letter  from  the  court  arrived,  upbraiding  him  with  his  treach 
ery  and  falsehood,  and  forbidding  his  appearance  at  court,  he 
sickened  with  chagrin,  and  died  a  few  days  afterward  of  a  broken 
heart.  Tt  is  vain  for  Harrisse  or  Winsor  to  attempt  any  pallia 
tion  of  Pinzon's  conduct  ;  there  are  too  many  evidences  of  mis 
conduct  on  his  part  to  leave  a  doubt  of  his  disloyalty. 

Columbus,  on  the  other  hand,  in  the  midst  of  his  triumph,  did 
not  forget  the  vows  he  had  made  to  his  heavenly  patroness. 
Many  of  his  crew  asked  leave  to  go  at  once  to  their  homes  to  re 
ceive  the  continued  and  joyous  felicitations  of  their  families  and 
friends,  but  the  admiral  refused  their  petitions  until  they  and  he 


212  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

had  fulfilled  their  vow  of  making  a  pilgrimage  of  thanksgiving 
at  the  nearest  church  of  Our  Lady  on  landing — a  fulfilment  which 
had  been  commenced  at  Santa  Maria,  and  had  been  treacherously 
interrupted  by  the  governor  of  the  island.  The  shrine  in  which 
they  now  performed  their  grateful  vow,  according  to  all  current 
history,  was  none  other  than  that  of  Our  Lady  of  La  Rabida,  and 
the  generous  monk,  Juan  Perez  de  Marchena,  who  had  sustained 
Columbus  in  his  darkest  hour,  and  had  offered  up  at  Palos  the 
mass  of  supplication  for  the  departing  fleet,  had  now  the  happi 
ness  of  celebrating  the  mass  of  thanksgiving  on  its  triumphant 
return.  The  scene  that  ensued,  when  those  two  tried  friends 
met  again  at  Palos,  after  the  vicissitudes  and  successes  which 
had  involved  the  highest  and  grandest  interests  of  mankind,  must 
have  been  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  significant  in  the  pages 
of  history.  Columbus  and  Juan  Perez  again  prayed  together  ! 

It  was  in  one  of  the  cells  of  the  shrine  of  La  Rabida  that 
Columbus,  according  to  the  Count  de  Lorgues,  though  without 
historical  support,  secluded  from  the  rest  of  the  world  and  sanc 
tified  with  unceasing  prayer,  elaborated  and  meditated  on  that 
important  project  for  the  peace  of  the  world — that  a  geographical 
and  natural  line  of  separation  and  partition  should  be  drawn  and 
established  between  the  newly  discovered  countries  of  Portugal 
and  Spain.  It  was  there,  too,  in  devout  prayer  and  consecrated 
cell,  that  he  conceived  the  nobler  thought  of  recommending 
those  rival  maritime  nations  to  refer  the  whole  question  of  divid 
ing  the  new  lands  between  them  to  the  Holy  See,  then  the  com 
mon  tribunal  of  arbitration  for  the  Christian  world.  On  this 
subject  the  Count  de  Lorgues  has  broken  forth  in  the  following 
enraptured  though  extravagant  language  : 

"  So,  full  of  confidence  as  if  he  held  the  whole  space  of  the 
globe  beneath  his  eyes,  although  two  thirds  of  it  were  as  yet 
unknown,  with  a  sublime  boldness,  or  rather  an  angelic  quiet 
ness,  he  makes  the  section  of  the  equator  which  nobody  had  yet 
traversed,  traces  across  immensity  a  vast  demarcation,  draws 
from  one  pole  to  the  other  an  ideal  line  which  will  divide  the 
earth,  in  passing  at  a  main  distance  of  a  hundred  leagues  to  the 
west  of  the  islands  of  Cape  Verd  and  those  of  the  Azores.  To 
accomplish  this  astonishing  geographical  division,  he  chose  pre 
cisely  the  only  point  of  our  planet  which  science  would  choose 
in  our  day  :  the  singular  region  of  the  line  without  magnetic 


ON   COLUMBUS.  213 

declination,  where  the  transparency  of  the  waters,  the  balminess 
of  the  air,  the  clearness  of  the  atmosphere,  the  abundance  of  the 
submarine  vegetation,  the  tropical  resplendency  of  the  nights, 
and  the  phosphorescence  of  the  waves  indicated  in  the  unsteady 
empire  of  the  billows  a  mysterious  demarcation  made  by  the 
omnipotent  Creator. 

'  This  vast  calculation  was  the  boldest  conception  that  ever 
issued  from  the  human  intellect.  Still,  Columbus,  without  being 
astonished,  without  hesitating,  without  perhaps  being  aware  of 
the  vastness  of  his  operation,  calmly  takes  his  calculations  of 
demarcation,  and  simply  demands  that  they  be  sent  to  Rome." 

As  might  well  be  supposed,  the  letter  of  Columbus  to  the  Span 
ish  sovereigns  produced  intense  sensation  at  court.  The  event 
was  regarded  as  the  most  extraordinary  and  important  one  of 
their  eventful  reigns  ;  the  small  territories  of  the  Moors  had  been 
acquired  after  eight  centuries  of  war,  and  with  immense  loss  of 
human  life  and  expenditure  of  treasure.  Here,  on  the  other 
hand,  vast  empires  and  boundless  continents  were  acquired  by 
the  voyage  of  a  small  caravel  !  Besides  all  this,  the  glory  ac 
quired  by  Spain  was  imperishable.  Columbus  had  proceeded 
as  far  as  Seville.  Here  he  received  the  sovereigns'  letter,  ad 
dressed  "  To  Don  Christopher  Columbus,  our  Admiral  of  the 
Ocean  Sea,  Viceroy  and  Governor  of  the  Islands  discovered  in 
the  Indies,"  expressing  their  unbounded  pleasure,  inviting  him 
to  court,  and  suggesting  preparations  for  another  and  more  ex 
tensive  expedition  to  the  Indies.  In  obedience  to  their  request, 
he  made  a  memorandum  of  the  ships,  men,  and  supplies  needed 
for  another  expedition,  commenced  the  necessary  preliminaries 
of  preparation  for  the  second  undertaking,  and  started  for  the 
court  at  Barcelona,  carrying  with  him  the  companions  of  his 
voyage,  the  six  Indians  he  had  brought  from  the  Indies,  and  the 
many  and  interesting  specimens  of  the  productions,  curiosities, 
and  articles  he  had  brought  home  with  him.  His  journey  from 
Seville  to  Barcelona  was  one  continual  triumphant  procession. 
The  people  on  the  route  turned  out  in  mass  to  honor  the  great 
discoverer  and  to  see  the  wonders  he  had  brought  back  with  him 
from  the  new  world.  His  progress  was  impeded  by  the  throngs 
of  people,  all  pressing  forward  to  see  himself,  the  Indians,  and 
the  other  wonders  he  displayed.  The  streets  were  crowded,  the 
windows  and  balconies  filled  with  eager  and  admiring  spectators, 


214  OLD   AND   NEW 

the  air  was  rent  with  applause,  and  ovation  after  ovation  awaited 
the  hero  of  the  age  as  he  passed  from  city  to  city.  The  wonders 
which  the  people  saw  only  excited  their  imaginations  to  fill  the 
newly  discovered  lands  with  other  and  more  startling  marvels. 
The  court  resolved  to  give  him  a  triumphal  reception  at  Bar 
celona,  and  here  he  arrived  by  the  middle  of  April.  As  he 
approached  a  cavalcade  of  youthful  courtiers,  gayly  dressed 
hidalgos,  and  the  people  of  the  city  advanced  to  receive  him. 
No  Roman  conqueror  ever  returned  to  the  imperial  city  with 
more  renown  or  honor.  The  arrangement  of  his  suite  was 
admirable— preceded  by  mariners  of  the  Nina  under  arms,  the 
royal  standard  borne  by  a  pilot,  and  others  bearing  branches  of 
unknown  trees  and  shrubs,  enormous  calabashes,  specimens  of 
raw  cotton,  pimento,  cocoas,  ginger,  and  other  products.  The 
Indians,  bearing  ornaments  of  barbaric  gold  on  their  persons, 
and  painted  according  to  their  native  customs,  advanced  behind 
them  ;  next  were  carried  a  great  variety  of  living  parrots,  with 
their  gorgeous  plumage,  and  stuffed  birds  of  rich  and  many 
colors,  animals  of  unknown  kinds,  and  plants  of  rare  qualities 
and  brilliant  foliage  ;  also  Indian  coronets,  bracelets,  and  other 
barbarous  decorations  of  gold.  Then  came  the  admiral,  mounted 
on  a  splendid  Castilian  horse,  and  surrounded  by  a  brilliant 
cavalcade  of  Spanish  chivalry  and  aristocracy.  The  grand  old 
city  was  in  all  its  brightest  attire  ;  the  streets,  windows,  bal 
conies,  and  even  the  roofs  were  crowded  with  people  to  see  these 
wonders  of  a  new  world,  and  the  great  and  wonderful  man  who 
had  discovered  another  hemisphere,  with  its  islands  and  empires. 
The  gold  of  the  new  world  especially  made  a  bright  and  fasci 
nating  show.  The  royal  throne  was  erected  in  public,  under  a 
rich  canopy  of  gold  brocade,  in  a  spacious  saloon  of  regal  splen 
dor,  and  here  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  received  the  admiral  in 
state,  attended  by  the  young  Prince  Juan,  and  by  the  grandees, 
dignitaries,  and  nobility  of  Spain.  Though  surrounded  by  the 
noblest  of  the  Spanish  chivalry,  Columbus  towered  above  all, 
and  won  admiration  by  his  tall  and  dignified  stature  and  car 
riage,  the  smile  of  conscious  yet  modest  triumph,  and  the  digni 
fied  expression  of  acknowledged  worth.  He  was  received  by 
the  sovereigns  with  the  highest  honors  a  subject  could  receive. 
They  lifted  him  from  his  knees  when  he  knelt  to  kiss  their  hands, 
and  ordered  him  to  be  seated  in  their  presence,  a  richly  deco- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  21$ 

rated  arm-chair  having  been  provided  for  him.  He  now  related, 
at  their  request,  the  great  events  he  had  achieved,  described  the 
various  islands  and  lands  he  had  discovered,  and  displayed  the 
birds,  animals,  specimens  of  gold  in  the  dust  or  in  crude  masses 
or  in  savage  ornaments,  and  especially  the  living  natives  of  the 
countries  he  had  visited.  The  king  and  queen  were  moved  to 
tears,  and  sinking  upon  their  knees,  all  present  following  their 
example,  the  Te  Deum  was  chanted  with  intense  devotion  and 
gratitude.  Such  was  the  grandeur,  unity,  enthusiasm,  and  de 
votion  manifested  by  the  entire  assemblage — sovereigns,  nobility, 
and  people — on  this  memorable  occasion,  that  Las  Casas  speaks  of 
them  all  as  "  Christian  souls  enjoying  a  foretaste  of  the  joys  of 
Paradise."  The  discourse  of  Columbus  on  his  discovery,  on  the 
new  countries  and  peoples  found,  and  on  the  productions  of  the 
new  world,  was  marked  with  learning,  scientific  arrangement, 
rare  and  beautiful  thoughts  and  illustrations^  and  with  consum 
mate  wisdom.  He  seemed  like  one  rarely  and  richly  gifted.  Dis 
missed  with  the  highest  honors,  he  was  escorted  to  the  lodgings 
prepared  for  him  by  the  lords  of  the  court,  and  by  the  populace.* 
The  city  was  given  over  to  universal  and  unrestrained  delight 
and  exultation. 

The  news  of  the  discovery  of  the  western  islands  and  countries 
produced  a  profound  sensation  throughout  Europe.  The  illus 
trious  Sebastian  Cabot,  first  explorer  or  discoverer  of  our  own 
coasts,  then  at  the  court  of  Henry  VII.  of  England,  acknowl 
edged  that  the  discovery  was  rather  a  divine  than  a  human 
work.f  Great  cosmographers  and  mariners  everywhere  re 
joiced.  Rome,  was  especially  delighted  with  this  great  triumph 
of  science,  the  opening  of  so  vast  and  new  a  field  of  Christian 
zeal  ;  and  the  sovereign  Pontiff,  with  the  College  of  Cardinals 
and  dignitaries  of  the  Church  and  the  ambassadors  of  all  the 
nations  there  assembled,  united  in  public  manifestations  of  joy 
and  services  of  thanksgiving.  The  delight  of  the  learned  world 
was  well  represented  and  expressed  by  the  joyful  tears  shed  at 
this  great  event  by  the  learned  Pomponius  Loetus.:}: 

*  Las  Casas,  "  Hist.  Ind.,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  Ixxvii.  ;  Helps,  "  Life  of  Christopher  Colum 
bus,"  ch.  v.  ;  Mufloz,  "Hist,  del  N.  Mundo,"  t.  i.,  liv.  ;  Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "Co 
lumbus,"  p.  231  ;  Tarducci's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  233-36  ;  Fernando  Colombo, 
cap.  xii. 

f  Hackluyt,  "Collection  of  Voyages,"  p.  7. 

\  "  Letters  of  Peter  Martyr,"  lib.  153  ;  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  273. 


2l6  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

A  great  and  representative  historian  and  geographer  of  that 
time,  a  contemporary  of  Columbus,  who  had  communicated  the 
discovery  to  Pomponius  Loetus,  the  celebrated  Peter  Martyr, 
thus  addresses  that  eminent  scholar  :  "  You  tell  me,  my  amiable 
Pomponius,  that  you  leaped  for  joy,  and  that  your  delight  was 
mingled  with  tears,  when  you  read  my  epistle  certifying  to  you 
the  hitherto  hidden  world  of  the  antipodes.  You  have  felt  and 
acted  as  became  a  man  eminent  for  learning,  for  I  can  conceive 
no  aliment  more  delicious  than  such  tidings  to  a  cultivated  and 
ingenuous  mind.  I  feel  a  wonderful  exultation  of  spirits  when 
I  converse  with  intelligent  men,  who  have  returned  from  those 
regions.  It  is  like  an  accession  of  wealth  to  a  miser.  Our 
minds,  soiled  and  debased  by  the  common  concerns  of  life  and 
the  vices  of  society,  become  elevated  and  ameliorated  by  con 
templating  such  glorious  events."  The  event  thus  alluded  to  by 
the  great  and  shining  intellects  of  that  age  is  also  mentioned  in 
many  contemporaneous  chronicles  ;  and  yet,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  discovery  was  announced  to  the  world,  even  by  the 
great  discoverer  himself,  as  merely  a  discovery  of  the  extreme 
and  unknown  parts  of  Asia,  these  allusions  are  brief  and  casual. 
Neither  Columbus  nor  his  most  learned  contemporaries  knew 
the  vastness  and  actual  importance  of  the  discovery  ;  much  less 
did  mankind  in  general.  Had  it  been  known  that  new  conti 
nents,  surrounded  by  oceans  and  similar  in  their  relations  to  the 
earth  to  the  Eastern  continents,  had  been  discovered  ;  had  it 
been  known  that  these  continents  would  become  the  seats  of 
great  and  free  republics  and  empires,  realizing  the  highest  de 
velopments  of  civilization,  of  free  government,  and  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  as  we  now  enjoy  them,  the  impression  would 
have  been  far  different ;  the  joy  of  mankind  would  have  been 
more  exultant  and  unbounded. 

It  was  natural  for  the  Count  de  Lorgues  to  take  the  religious 
rather  than  the  scientific  view  of  the  subject,  as  he  more  particu 
larly  represents  that  phase  of  these  events  and  of  the  life  and 
work  of  Columbus,  and  yet,  like  the  admiral  himself,  he  recog 
nizes  the  union  of  science  and  religion  in  the  achievement.  Thus 
he,  while  extolling  the  learning,  science,  and  experience  of 
Columbus,  and  especially  his  great  common  sense,  yet  attributes 
a  supernatural  character  to  the  enterprise  :  "  The  superiority  of 
Columbus,  of  his  genius  and  of  his  grandeur,  was  owing  to  his. 


ON    COLUMBUS.  2  I/ 

religious  faith."  And  again  he  says  :  "  He  who  does  not  believe 
in  the  supernatural  cannot  comprehend  Columbus."  The  great 
admiral  himself  attributes  his  success  to  the  favor  of  Heaven. 
Scarcely  had  he  retired  from  the  presence  of  the  sovereigns  and 
from  the  public  triumphs  he  received  at  Barcelona  to  his  own 
private  apartments,  when,  falling  upon  his  knees,  he  made  a  vow 
to  redeem  the  Holy  Land  from  the  hands  of  the  infidels,  and  for 
this  purpose  to  furnish  from  the  immense  incomes  he  expected 
to  receive  from  the  new  world,  within  seven  years,  an  army  of 
four  thousand  horse  and  fifty  thousand  foot,  and  a  similar  force 
within  the  five  following  years.  This  vow  was  not  only  recorded 
in  one  of  his  letters  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  but  was  also  com 
municated  in  a  letter  to  Pope  Alexander  VI.,  to  whom,  in  1502, 
he  gives  the  reasons  for  his  inability  up  to  that  time  to  fulfil  it. 
There  is  surely  no  trait  more  conspicuous  in  the  character  of 
Columbus  than  his  acknowledged  magnanimity. 

The  fame  of  Columbus  was  thus  spread  throughout  the  learned 
and  civilized  world.  In  Spain  he  stood  at  the  highest  point  of 
honor  a  subject  could  attain.  Admiral  of  the  ocean,  viceroy  and 
governor-general,  he  stood  as  a  man  in  the  world  almost  without 
a  peer.  He  received  in  public  and  in  private  the  most  unusual 
honors.  Admitted  freely  to  the  royal  presences,  consulted  by 
the  king  and  queen  on  every  detail  of  the  second  expedition,  and 
on  the  general  affairs  of  the  Western  lands  ;  while  the  king  took 
him  for  his  companion  in  his  trips  on  horseback  in  the  city  and 
country,  having  Columbus  on  one  side  and  Prince  Juan  on  the 
other,  the  queen  created  new  armorial  bearings  for  him,  com 
bining  the  royal  arms  of  Castile  and  Aragon,  the  castle  and  the 
lion,  with  his  own  bearings,  which  were  a  group  of  islands  sur 
rounded  by  the  waves  of  the  ocean.  The  pension  promised  by 
the  sovereigns  to  the  one  who  should  first  discover  land  was 
awarded  to  him,  because  he  had  first  seen  the  light  on  the  shore. 
The  highest  dignitaries  of  the  Church  and  the  proudest  of  the 
Spanish  nobility  vied  with  each  other  in  honoring  the  great  dis 
coverer,  and  many  were  the  banquets  and  entertainments  given 
in  his  honor.  The  Grand  Cardinal  of  Spain,  Mendoza,  gave  a 
great  banquet  in  his  honor,  and  it  was  on  this  occasion  that  the 
well-known  anecdote  of  the  egg  is  alleged  to  have  occurred. 
Columbus  was  assigned  the  highest  place  at  the  banquet, 
seated  under  a  raised  dais,  and  served  with  covered  dishes,  like 


218  OLD   AND    NEW   LIGHTS 

a  monarch,  each  dish  presented  to  him  being  tasted  before  him, 
according  to  royal  etiquette.  He  received  on  all  occasions  the 
ceremonious  honors  due  to  a  viceroy.  While  the  distinguished 
company  were  at  dinner,  a  courtier  with  more  tongue  than  brains 
is  said  to  have  asked  Columbus  somewhat  abruptly,  and  with 
envy  toward  a  foreigner,  whether  he  did  not  think  that  if  he  had 
not  succeeded  in  discovering  the  Indies  there  was  not  in  Spain 
some  other  person  who  would  have  been  capable  of  doing  so  ; 
Columbus,  without  making  any  other  reply,  according  to  this 
oft-repeated  but  unauthentic  story,  called  for  an  egg,  and  when 
it  was  brought  he  asked  any  one  of  the  company  that  could  do 
so,  to  make  it  stand  on  end.  Each  one  tried  it,  but  failed,  amid 
the  laughter  of  the  guests  ;  then  Columbus  took  the  egg,  and 
striking  it  gently  on  one  end,  so  as  to  break  it  slightly,  thus 
caused  it  to  stand  on  one  end.  It  was  in  this  way  that  he  showed 
how  easy  it  seemed  for  any  one  to  discover  the  new  world  after 
another  had  shown  the  way.  This  anecdote  has  been  questioned. 
While  Mr.  Irving  and  other  historians  cite  it  as  characteristic 
of  the  admiral's  practical  sagacity  and  readiness  of  expedients, 
others,  such  as  the  Count  de  Lorgues,  while  relating  it,  reject  it 
as  frivolous,  and  as  a  story  of  a  mere  juggler's  trick,  unworthy  of 
and  unlike  the  gravity  and  dignity  of  Columbus.  Tarducci  dis 
credits  the  story  entirely.  Yet  the  anecdote  is  of  universal 
popularity.  Lamartine  goes  so  far  as  to  relate  it  as  occurring  at 
the  table  of  King  Ferdinand. 

In  keeping  with  the  envious  disposition  of  ungenerous  minds 
to  disparage  the  great  discovery  of  Columbus,  after  it  had  been 
accomplished,  various  attempts  were  made  to  deprive  him  of  the 
glory  of  his  achievement.  One  of  these  unwoithy  efforts  was  an 
idle  tale  to  the  effect  that  Columbus  received  information  of 
the  existence  of  land  in  the  western  parts  of  the  ocean  from  an 
old  tempest-tossed  pilot,  who  had  been  driven  by  violent  east 
erly  winds  westwardly  across  the  Atlantic,  and  on  his  return  he 
and  his  companions  were  hospitably  received  by  Columbus  as 
guests  in  his  house  at  Porto  Santo  ;  that  one  after  another  of 
the  survivors  of  this  expedition  died,  until  only  one,  the  pilot, 
whose  name  was  afterward  asserted  to  be  Alonzo  Sanchez  de 
Huelva,  survived,  and  he  finally,  like  his  companions,  all  ex 
hausted  by  their  recent  hardships  at  sea,  also  died  in  the  house 
of  Columbus,  bequeathing  to  him  his  written  accounts  of  an  un- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  219 

known  land  in  the  West.  Although  a  number  of  authors  either 
accepted  or  repeated  the  story,  as  happened  also  with  the  inven 
tion  that  Columbus  was  never  married  a  second  time,  it  is  now 
quite  generally  if  not  universally  rejected  as  an  invention  of  the 
envious  to  deprive  Columbus  of  the  well-merited  glory  of  having 
discovered  the  new  world.  It  has  no  greater  foundation  in  fact 
than  the  fabulous  island  of  St.  Brandan,  or  the  island  of  the  seven 
cities,  or  the  landing  of  Martin  Behem,  in  the  course  of  an  African 
expedition,  accidentally  on  the  coast  of  South  America.  While 
a  tempest-tossed  and  shipwrecked  sailor,  who,  on  being  cast  on 
shore,  sickened  and  died,  could  hardly  be  believed  to  have  been 
able  to  write  out  an  account  of  his  wanderings  at  sea,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  indigent  condition  of  Columbus  at  Funchal, 
for  thither  we  must  transfer  the  story  from  Porto  Santo,  pre 
cludes  the  idea  of  his  being  able  to  entertain  so  many  guests,  or 
of  his  having  a  house  of  his  own  at  all.  Benzoni  states  that  the 
story  was  expressly  invented  "  to  diminish  the  immortal  fame  of 
Christopher  Columbus,  as  there  were  many  (in  Spain)  who  could 
not  endure  that  a  foreigner  and  an  Italian  should  have  acquired 
so  much  honor  and  so  much  glory,  not  only  for  the  Spanish 
kingdom,  but  also  for  the  other  nations  of  the  world." 

The  startling  discovery  by  Columbus  of  a  new  route,  as  it  was 
believed  to  be,  to  the  Indies,  was  singularly  made  known  first  to 
Portugal,  the  rival  of  Spain  in  maritime  discoveries  and  conquests, 
by  the  accident  of  his  being  driven  by  storm  into  a  Portuguese 
port.  The  relations  of  Spain  and  Portugal  became  now  more 
than  ever  strained.  It  was  under  such  circumstances  that  Chris 
tian  nations,  fortunately,  acknowledged  a  common  head,  an  im 
partial  arbitrator  between  nations,  a  recognized  preserver  of  the 
peace  of  Christendom.  Such  were  the  sovereign  Pontiffs  in 
those  days.  There  never  was  a  case  in  the  history  of  the  nations 
when  the  peaceful  intervention  of  arbitration  was  more  necessary 
to  prevent  the  outbreak  of  war,  which  would  have  been  a  war 
greatly  detrimental  to  the  prosecution  of  the  most  important 
geographical  discoveries.  Alexander  VI.  was  now  Pope.  His 
predecessors,  as  early  as  1438,  had  permitted  the  Spaniards  to 
sail  west  and  the  Portuguese  to  sail  south,  as  witnessed  by  the 
bulls  of  Popes  Martin  V.  and  Eugenius  IV.  Nicholas  V.  had  sub- 
'  sequently  confirmed  these  papal  concessions,  and,  in  1479,  ^ne 
two  rival  maritime  powers  had  agreed  to  respect  each  other's 


220  OLD    AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

rights  under  these  decisions.  How  far  the  Portuguese  king  had 
now  kept  the  spirit  of  his  agreement,  when  he  permitted  with 
impunity  proposals  to  be  made  to  him  for  the  murder  of  Colum 
bus,  and  basely  accepted  proposals  for  sending  out  a  secret  ex 
pedition  to  seize  the  western  lancfs  he  had  discovered  and  taken 
possession  of  for  Spain,  does  not  seem  to  be  a  question  admitting 
of  much  doubt.  In  the  mean  time,  Spain  was  hurrying  its  prep 
arations  to  send  out  a  second  expedition  under  Columbus  to 
secure  and  follow  up  its  western  discoveries.  When  Columbus 
landed  in  Portugal  after  discovering  the  supposed  Indies,  the 
king  of  that  country  plainly  intimated  to  him  that  the  lands  he 
had  taken  possession  of  for  Spain  lay  within  the  previous  papal 
concessions  made  to  Portugal,  and  was  assured  by  Columbus  to 
the  contrary.  Negotiations  now  followed  between  the  two  com 
peting  powers.  Ferdinand  was  prompt  in  appealing  to  Rome 
for  a  confirmation  of  his  possessions  taken  by  Columbus,  as  Por 
tugal  had  done  under  the  predecessors  of  Alexander  VI. 

The  part  which  Columbus  may  have  taken  in  the  matter  of 
establishing  the  famous  line  of  demarcation  is  one  of  the  con 
troverted  points  in  his  remarkable  career.  Roselly  de  Lorgues 
and  other  authors  most  partial  to  Columbus  have  contended 
that  in  his  cell  at  the  Convent  of  La  Rabida,  where  he  is  be 
lieved  to  have  rested  in  waiting  for  a  summons  to  court  from 
the  sovereigns,  after  his  return  from  his  first  voyage,  Columbus 
was  the  first  to  conceive  the  thought  of  establishing  a  line  of 
demarcation  between  the  new  countries  of  the  earth  that  should 
belong  respectively  to  Spain  and  Portugal,*  and  that  he  was 
the  first  to  suggest  the  selection  for  this  purpose  of  the  line  of 
no  variation  of  the  needle,  which  on  his  first  outward  voyage  he 
had  discovered  at  the  distance  of  a  hundred  leagues  west  of  the 
Cape  Verd  and  the  Azores  islands.  At  this  mysterious  line 
there  seemed  to  be  a  sudden  change  in  the  sky  and  stars,  in  the 
temperature  of  the  air  and  sea  ;  and  the  needle,  which  in  ap 
proaching  it  had  deviated  to  the  east,  here  stood  still,  and  on 
passing  it  commenced  to  deviate  to  the  west,  as  if  crossing  a 
ridge  of  the  earth,  and  the  polar  star  described  a  daily  circle  of 
five  degrees,  f  John  Fiske  simply  relates  the  selection  of  the 


*  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  Count  de  Lorgues'  "Columbus,"  p.  221. 
f  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  76. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  221 

line  of  no  deflection  as  an  historical  fact,  giving  rise  to  no  con 
troversy  for  him  to  enter  upon  ;  but  Justin  Winsor  rather  scoffs 
at  the  claim  that  Columbus  had  anything  to  do  with  the  selection 
or  suggestion  of  this  line  for  the  line  of  demarcation.  His  gen 
eral  style  of  handling  controverted  subjects  in  the  career  of 
Columbus,  and  he  controverts  many,  is  exemplified  in  the  follow 
ing  passage  on  this  subject  :  ' '  To  make  a  physical  limit  serve  a 
political  one  was  an  obvious  recourse  at  a  time  when  the  line  of 
no  variation  was  thought  to  be  unique,  and  of  a  true  north  and 
south  direction  ;  but  within  a  century  the  observers  found  three 
other  lines,  as  Acosta  tells  us  in  his  '  Historia  Natural  de  las 
Indias,'  in  1589  ;  and  there  proved  to  be  a  persistent  migration 
of  these  lines,  all  little  suited  to  terrestrial  demarcations.  Roselly 
de  Lorgues  and  the  canonizers,  however,  having  given  to  Colum 
bus  the  planning  of  the  line  in  his  cell  at  Rabida,  think,  with  a 
surprising  prescience  on  his  part,  and  with  a  very  convenient 
obliviousness  on  their  part,  that  he  had  chosen  '  precisely  the 
only  point  of  our  planet  which  science  would  choose  in  our  day 
— a  mysterious  demarcation  made  by  its  omnipotent  Creator,'  in 
sovereign  disregard,  unfortunately,  of  the  laws  of  His  own  uni 
verse  !"* 

It  seems  scarcely  just  or  logical  to  dispose  of  the  subject  in 
this  way.  There  are  some  uncontroverted  facts  which  seem  to 
throw  light  upon  the  claim  thus  made  in  behalf  of  Columbus. 
We  do  not  know  historically  that  he  wrote  a  letter  from  his  cell 
at  La  Rabida  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  suggesting  the  line  of 
no  variations  as  the  line  of  demarcation  between  the  possessions 
of  Spain  and  Portugal.  But  we  do  know  that  immediately  after 
the  arrival  of  Columbus  at  Barcelona  and  his  interviews  there 
with  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  an  ambassador  was  despatched  to 
Rome  to  ask,  and  he  obtained,  from  the  Pope,  Alexander  VI., 
the  establishment  of  a  line  of  demarcation  which  would  secure 
to  Spain  the  exclusive  right  to  the  lands  discovered  by  Colum 
bus.  The  most  important  of  all  the  facts  bearing  on  the  subject 
is  that  Columbus  had  recently  discovered  the  line  of  no  varia 
tion,  and  had  necessarily  taken  a  lively  and  leading  interest  in  its 
nature,  effects,  and  future  possibilities  of  utility.  One  of  the 
severest  injunctions  imposed  on  him  was  that  he  should  steer 


*  Winsor's  "Columbus,"  etc.,  p.  254. 


222  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

clear  of  the  dominions  and  discoveries  of  the  Portuguese,  and 
the  rival  claims  of  those  two  competing  powers  constituted  one 
of  the  foremost  and  burning  questions  of  the  day.  Columbus  is 
known  to  have  felt  an  intense  interest  in  everything  connected 
with  or  flowing  from  his  own  great  achievement.  The  attendant 
circumstances  would  rationally  point  him  out,  in  this  remarkable 
event,  as  a  figure  scarcely  less  if  not  more  important  in  fact  and 
indirectly  than  either  the  King  of  Spain  or  the -King  of  Por 
tugal,  or  even  the  Pope.  But  for  his  services  and  achievements 
there  would  .have  been  no  need  of  a  line  of  demarcation,  nor 
would  there  have  been  known  so  ready  a  mode  of  solving  the 
difficulty  as  the  line  of  no  variation.  It  was  not  to  be  supposed 
that  so  fervent  a  Catholic,  and  so  prominent  and  indispensable  an 
actor  in  the  crucial  events  leading  up  to  it,  could  have  been  a 
silent  or  indifferent  witness  of  this  remarkable  exercise  of  the 
papal  power  and  jurisdiction.  It  is  far  more  probable  that  so 
ardent  a  supporter  of  the  universal  jurisdiction  of  the  Popes  as 
then  exercised,  as  the  arbitrators  of  Christendom — that  one  who 
was  then  contemplating  his  own  proposal  to  the  Holy  See  for 
another  crusade  to  recover  the  Holy  Sepulchre — should  have 
been  second  to  any  one  in  suggesting  this  obviously  necessary 
appeal  to  and  recognition  of  the  papal  power.  The  heart  and 
the  face  of  Columbus  were  always  turned  to  Rome. 

Much  speculation  has  been  indulged  in  by  theologians,  publi 
cists,  and  historians  as  to  the  origin  of  the  power  exercised  by  the 
Popes  in  disposing  of  temporal  empires  and  kingdoms,  and  espe 
cially  in  partitioning  among  Christian  princes  the  heathen  and 
unconverted  countries  of  the  earth.  The  most  extraordinary 
instance  of  the  exercise  of  this  power,  the  one  which  affected  the 
right  and  ownership  of  an  entire  hemisphere  or  half  of  the  earth, 
and  which  was  most  far-reaching  in  its  scope  and  effects,  was 
this  very  bull  of  Pope  Alexander  VI.,  the  bull  Inter  Cetera,  by 
which  the  famous  line  of  demarcation  was  established  between 
the  two  great  maritime  and  discovering  nations,  Spain  and  Por 
tugal.  It  is  doubtful  whether  this  power  was  ever  traceable  or 
was  ever  traced  to  the  fictitious  "  Donation  of  Constantine."  It 
was  not  of  sudden  creation  ;  it  was  rather  the  offspring  of  the 
gradual  growth  of  ages,  of  the  exigencies  of  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world,  and  the  consent  of  princes.  Popes  Gregory  VII.,  in  the 
eleventh  century,  and  Innocent  IV.,  in  the  thirteenth,  seem  to 


ON   COLUMBUS.  22$ 

have  claimed  such  authority  as  inherent  in  the  papacy,  and 
Alvaro  Pelayo,  the  Franciscan  monk,  and  Agostino  Trionfi,  in 
the  fourteenth  century,  also  maintained  it  in  its  fullest  extent, 
and  maintained  that  the  Popes  were  suzerains  of  the  whole  earth, 
and  had  absolute  power  to  dispose  not  only  of  all  Christian  king 
doms,  but  also  of  all  heathen  lands  and  powers.*  The  Church 
has  never  defined  such  a  power  as  among  the  powers  conferred 
on  the  Popes  by.  divine  right.  The  only  correct  method  of  view 
ing  the  subject  from  the  historical  point  of  view,  which  recog 
nizes  the  fact  that  such  power  was,  indeed,  exercised  by  the 
Popes  in  those  centuries,  is  that  its  actual  origin  is  historically 
traced  to  the  consent  of  reigning  sovereigns,  and  that,  having 
served  its  purposes  in  those  ages,  wherein  it  was  recognized,  it 
has  now  ceased  to  exist  or  to  be  claimed  The  following  passage 
from  the  recognized  authority  of  the  Most  Rev.  Francis  Patrick 
Kenrick,  Archbishop  of  Baltimore  from  1851-63,  will  be  read 
with  conclusive  effect  upon  all  candid  minds  :f 

"  The  bull  of  Alexander  VI.,  fixing  limits  for  the  discoveries  of 
the  kings  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  is  frequently  represented  as  the 
most  extravagant  instance  of  papal  pretensions  ;  yet  learned 
men,  Protestant  as  well  as  Catholic,  regard  it  only  as  a  solemn 
sanction  of  rights  already  acquired  according  to  the  laws  of 
nations,  and  as  a  measure  directed  to  prevent  war  between 
Christian  princes.  It  is  certain,  as  Washington  Irving:}:  well 
observes,  that  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  conceived,  and  in  their 
application  to  the  Pontiff  stated,  that  their  title  to  the  newly  dis 
covered  lands  was,  in  the  opinion  of  many  learned  men,  suffi 
ciently  established  by  the  formal  possession  taken  of  them  by 
Columbus,  in  the  name  of  the  Spanish  crown  ;  but  they  desired 
a  public  recognition  of  their  right,  lest  others  should  profit  by 
the  discovery  who  had  not  shared  in  the  enterprise.  From  the 
position  which  the  Popes  long  occupied  as  fathers  of  princes  and 
highest  expounders  of  law  and  of  the  principles  of  justice,  his  act 
was  the  most  solemn  confirmation  of  the  title,  and  the  greatest 
safeguard  against  encroachment.  The  terms  of  '  giving,  grant- 


*  Baronius,  "  Annales,"  torn,  xvii.,  p.  430  ;  Alvaro  Pelayo,  "  De  Planctu  Ecclesiae," 
JSS0;  Venice,  1560.  See  also  a  note  on  this  subject  in  John  Fiske's  "  Discovery  of 
America,"  vol.  i  ,  pp.  455-58. 

f  "  The  Primacy  of  the  Apostolic  See  Vindicated,"  Baltimore,  185-5,  PP   3*4,  315- 
\  "  Life  and  Writings  of  Christopher  Columbus,"  1.  v.  c.  viii.,  p.  iS6. 


224  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

mg,  and  bestowing  of  the  plenitude  of  authority,'  are  only  de 
signed  to  express  in  the  fullest  and  strongest  manner  the  pontifi 
cal  sanction  and  confirmation.  '  The  Roman  Pontiffs,'  says  Car 
dinal  Baluffi,  '  as  universal  fathers,  not  because  they  imagined 
themselves  to  be  the  lords  of  the  whole  earth,  but  in  order  to 
prevent  the  effusion  of  Christian  blood,  found  themselves,  at 
the  epoch  of  the  discovery  of  America,  in  circumstances  which 
rendered  it  desirable  that  they  should  divide  the-  countries,  and 
mark  mutual  limits  to  the  conquests  of  the  nations  that  took  arms 
against  unknown  nations.'*  Wheaton,  in  his  great  work  on 
international  law,  observes  :  '  As  between  the  Christian  nations, 
the  Sovereign  Pontiff  was  the  supreme  arbiter  of  conflicting 
claims  ;  hence  the  famous  bull  issued  by  Pope  Alexander  VI.  in 
1493.'  f  '  This  bold  stretch  of  papal  authority,'  says  Prescott,:}: 
'  was  in  a  measure  justified  by  the  event,  since  it  did,  in  fact,  de 
termine  the  principles  on  which  the  vast  extent  of  unappropriated 
empire  in  the  Eastern  and  Western  hemispheres  was  ultimately 
divided  between  two  petty  States  of  Europe.'  It  should  not  sur 
prise  us  that  the  right  to  give,  as  it  were,  a  charter  for  the  discovery 
of  unknown  lands  to  a  national  corporation  in  a  Christian  confed 
eracy  should  be  recognized  in  him  whose  office  imposed  on  him 
the  duty  of  spreading  the  Gospel  throughout  all  nations.  This 
temporal  attribution  might  easily  attach  itself,  by  general  consent, 
to  his  spiritual  supremacy,  the  exercise  of  which,  in  the  diffusion 
of  religion,  it  facilitated,  by  the  support  and  protection  given  in 
return  by  the  princes  whose  enterprise  was  favored.  The  per 
sonal  character  of  the  Pontiff  did  not  disqualify  him,  in  their 
minds,  from  discharging  the  high  function  of  arbiter  between 
them  ;  and  Divine  Providence  gave  to  the  world  this  sublime 
instance  of  the  salutary  influence  of  the  papacy  in  directing  an 
enterprise  which  has  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  the  new  world." 
Mr.  Fiske  has  well  said  :  "  As  between  the  two  rival  powers, 
the  Pontiff's  arrangement  was  made  in  a  spirit  of  even-handed 
justice."  And  again  :  "It  was  a  substantial  reward  for  the 
monarchs  who  had  completed  the  overthrow  of  Mohammedan 
rule  in  Spain,  and  it  afforded  them  opportunities  for  further  good 


"  L'America  un  tempo  Spagnuola,"  da  Gaetano  Baluffi,  Ancona,  1844. 
f  "  Elements  of  International  Law,"  Part  II.,  chap,  iv.,  p.  240. 
$  "  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,"  vol.  ii.,  chap,  xviii. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  22$ 

work  in  converting  the  heathen  inhabitants  of  the  islands  and 
mainland  of  Asia."  * 

In  confirmation  of  the  view  that  Columbus  must  have  taken  an 
important  part  in  the  selection  of  the  papal  line  of  demarcation 
in  1493,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  question  of  this  line  was 
,again  raised  in  1494,  and  the  readjustment  of  it  was  under  con 
sideration  at  the  urgent  demand  of  Portugal,  which  was  dissatis 
fied  with  the  line  as  established  by  Pope  Alexander  VI.,  and 
then  the  Spanish  sovereigns  made  a  special  and  pressing  com 
munication  to  Columbus,  who  was  then  in  Hispaniola,  on  the 
subject.  While  they  informed  him  that  the  principles  of  an 
adjustment  between  Spain  and  Portugal  had  been  agreed  upon, 
informed  him  what  they  were,  and  requested  him  to  respect 
them  in  the  course  of  his  discoveries,  yet,  as  the  adjustment  of 
the  same  and  the  drawing  of  the  proposed  new  line  was  so  im 
portant  as  to  render  his  presence  in  Spain  and  counsel  at  the 
convention  desirable,  he  was  requested  to  return  to  Spain  and 
take  part  in, this  adjustment ;  and  in  case  it  was  not  in  his  power 
to  leave  the  new  world  at  that  juncture,  he  was  requested  to 
send  his  brother  Bartholomew,  or  any  other  competent  person 
he  should  select  for  this  service,  and  to  send  by  such  person  the 
maps,  charts,  and  designs,  such  as  he  might  consider  as  of  ser 
vice  in  such  a  negotiation,  f  As  neither  Columbus  nor  Bartholo 
mew  could  leave  Hispaniola  at  that  time,  the  admiral's  brother 
Diego  was  fully  instructed  and  sent  to  Spain  to  represent  the 
admiral  at  this  important  conference. 

After  considering  this  subject,  the  able  publicist,  Francesco 
Tarducci,  gives  his  clear  judgment  of  the  part  taken  by  Colum 
bus  in  this  affair,  as  follows  :  ' '  No  doubt  the  idea  of  placing  the 
line  at  that  distance  was  suggested  to  the  Pope  by  Columbus 
himself,  who  had  derived  it  from  the  observation  of  various 
strange  phenomena  at  that  place.  "|  Alexander  VI.  acted  with 
extraordinary  promptness  in  this  affair — a  promptness  which  indi 
cated  that  the  crisis  between  Spain  and  Portugal  was  urgent. 
Thus  on  May  3d,  1493,  he  issued  his  celebrated  Bull  of  Demar 
cation,  conferring  upon  Spain  all  lands  already  discovered  or 
thereafter  to  be  discovered  in  the  western  ocean,  with  jurisdic- 

*  "  The  Discovery  of  America,"  vol.  1.,  pp.  454,  455. 

f  Irving's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  39. 

J  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  Brownson's  translation,  vol.  i.,  p.  246,  note. 


226  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

tion  and  privileges  in  all  respects  similar  to  those  formerly  be 
stowed  upon  Portugal  ;  but,  in  further  proof  of  the  urgency  of 
the  case,  Alexander  VI.  on  the  following  day  issued  his  second 
bull,  whereby,  in  order  to  prevent  any  occasion  of  misunder 
standing  between  the  rival  nations,  he  decreed  that  all  lands  dis 
covered  or  to  be  discovered  to  the  west  of  a  meridian  one  hun 
dred  leagues  west  of  the  Azores  and  Cape  Verd  Islands  should 
belong  to  Spain.  It  does  not  redound  much  to  the  credit  of 
John  II.  of  Portugal  that  he  remained  unsatisfied  with  the  de 
cision  of  the  very  tribunal  he  had  on  several  previous  occasions 
-  invoked  in  his  own  behalf.  In  the  present  concession  to  Spain, 
as  in  previous  ones  to  Portugal,  the  favorable  action  of  the  Holy 
See  was  always  based  upon  the  condition  that  Portugal  and 
Spain  should  send  out  missionaries  for  the  conversion  of  the 
heathen  nations  to  Christianity.  Even  now  we  find  in  the  pages 
of  Justin  Winsor's  book  a  reluctant  admission  that  Columbus  had 
exerted  some  influence  in  the  selection  of  the  line  of  demarcation, 
for  he  says  :  "  It  will  be  observed  that  in  the  placing  of  this  line 
the  magnetic  phenomena  which  Columbus  had  observed  on  his 
recent  voyage  were  not  forgotten,  if  the  coincidence  can  be  so 
regarded.  Humboldt  suggests  that  it  can."  * 

Amid  the  honors  and  dignities  heaped  upon  Columbus  from 
sovereigns,  princes,  nations,  and  pontiffs  ;  amid  the  distractions 
and  festivities  of  the  rejoicing  court  ;  amid  the  engrossing  labors 
and  duties  he  sustained  in  preparing  for  his  second  voyage  across 
the  Atlantic,  it  is  greatly  to  the  honor  of  Columbus  that  his 
thoughts  reverently  turned  to  his  venerable  father,  who  was  still 
surviving  at  Genoa,  and  who  had  lived  to  see  and  rejoice  at  the 
brilliant  successes  of  his  son.  Columbus  sent  to  his  father  a  trusty 
messenger  bearing  the  evidences  of  his  filial  love  and  devotion. 
At  the  same  time,  he  requested  his  father  to  permit  his  younger 
brother,  Diego  Columbus,  who  was  till  then  assisting  his  father 
at  the  trade  of  wool-combing,  to  come  to  him  in  Spain  and  enter 
the  service  of  the  sovereigns,  under  the  admiral's  command. 
The  venerable  father  now  willingly  parted  with  his  last  remain 
ing  son.  We  shall  subsequently  see  Giacomo,  whose  name  in 
Spanish  was  Diego  Colon,  serving  as  aide-de-camp  to  the  great 
admiral,  and  as  governor  ad  interim. 


*  Winsor's  "  Columbus,"  p.  254. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  22J 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  at  Barcelona,  Diego  Columbus  took 
a  prominent  part  in  a  novel  and  truly  interesting  and  important 
ceremony.  The  seven  Indians  whom  Columbus  had  brought 
to  Spain  from  the  islands  in  the  western  ocean  had  been  sedu 
lously  instructed  in  the  Christian  faith,  and  now  all  of  them,  of 
their  own  motion,  asked  for  the  privilege  of  receiving  Christian 
baptism.  They  were  found,  upon  examination,  worthy  of  this 
grace,  and  the  sovereigns  resolved  that  the  event  should  be 
celebrated  with  solemn  religious  pomp  and  grandeur.  At  the 
baptismal  ceremony  the  king,  Prince  Juan,  Don  Diego  Colum 
bus,  and  several  of  the  first  grandees  of  the  court  were  the 
sponsors  or  godfathers.  The  reason  assigned,  according  to  the 
Count  de  Lorgues,  for  Columbus  not  becoming  one  of  the  spon 
sors  was,  that  he  was  the  father  of  all  the  Indians,  and  the 
Church  did  not  permit  the  father  to  become  the  godfather  for 
his  own  children.* 

During  the  diplomatic  game  which,  as  we  have  stated,  was 
carried  on  between  Ferdinand  and  his  royal  cousin  and  rival, 
John  II.  of  Portugal,  each  sovereign  was  secretly  struggling  to 
be  the  first  to  dispatch  a  fleet  to  secure  the  islands  and  countries 
which  Columbus  had  discovered  as  supposed  parts  of  India. 
But  Ferdinand  was  more  crafty  than  his  wily  competitor,  and  he 
succeeded  in  being  the  first  to  send  out  his  fleet  ;  so  that  Por 
tugal  for  a  while  was  content  to  continue  her  explorations  along 
the  coast  of  Africa,  until  the  Cape  was  doubled  and  the  southern 
route  to  India  accomplished.  These  expeditions  engrossed  the 
attention  of  Portugal  for  some  years,  and  achieved  success  and 
honor  for  that  kingdom. 

Ferdinand  and  Isabella  now  bent  all  their  energies  to  forward 
the  sailing  of  the  second  expedition  under  Columbus,  in  order  to 
secure  to  themselves  the  full  measure  of  success  in  respect  to 
the  lands  already  discovered,  and  those  which  were  yet  to  be 
reached.  But  in  order  that  all  the  affairs  of  state  relating  to  the 
Indies  and  the  future  prosecution  of  the  great  enterprises  in 
volved  in  the  recent  discoveries  should  be  adequately  promoted 
and  administered,  the  sovereigns  now  commenced  the  foundation 
of  that  official  and  powerful  organization  which  was  afterward 


*  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.   i.,  p.   243  ;  Irving's  "Columbus,"   vol.   L, 
p.  285  ;  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  translated  by  Dr.  Barry,  p.  250. 


228  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

so  prominent  as  the  Council  of  Indies.  The  selection  of  the 
officials  to  fill  these  important  offices  was  not  the  most  happy. 
Columbus  was  desirous  of  going  to  Rome  in  order  to  give  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff  in  person  an  account  of  his  discoveries  and  of 
the  discovered  countries,  and  to  receive  the  blessing  of  the  Holy 
See  ;  but  the  pressing  duties  which  now  occupied  all  his  time 
prevented  him  from  doing  so,  and  he  was  compelled  to  meet  and 
co-operate  with  the  newly  appointed  officials  presiding  over  the 
affairs  of  the  Indies.  The  sovereigns  had  appointed  as  Director- 
General  of  the  Marine  one  whom  the  Count  de  Lorgues,  follow 
ing  Las  Casas  and  other  authors,  justly  described  as  a  "  worldly- 
minded  ecclesiastic,  Don  Juan  de  Fonseca,  Archdeacon  of  Seville, 
but  a  bureaucrat  by  instinct,  and  a  brother  to  men  in  high  credit 
with  King  Ferdinand  ;"  an  appointment  which  was  afterward 
the  source  ot  much  of  the  vexations  and  injustices  which  Colum 
bus  had  to  endure,  and  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  western 
enterprises.  Juan  de  Soria,  a  man  who  resembled  Fonseca  in 
his  instincts  and  methods,  was  appointed  Comptroller-General, 
and  Francisco  Pinelo  was  appointed  Paymaster.  All  historians 
represent  Fonseca  as  a  man  of  great  ability  for  business,  for  he 
not  only  retained  his  offices  during  life,  but  was  successively 
promoted  to  the  Sees  of  Bajadoz,  Cordova,  Palencia,  and  Burgos, 
and  finally  to  the  patriarchate  of  the  Indies.  Mr.  Irving  but 
expresses  the  general  sentiment  of  history  when  he  says  that 
"  he  was  malignant  and  vindictive  ;  and,  in  the  gratification  of 
his  private  resentments,  not  only  heaped  wrongs  and  sorrows 
upon  the  most  illustrious  of  the  early  discoverers,  but  frequently 
impeded  the  progress  of  their  enterprises."* 

The  offices  of  the  Director-General  of  the  Indies  and  of  his 
officials  was  located  at  Seville  ;  a  custom-house  was  established 
at  Cadiz  for  the  trade  of  the  Indies,  and  a  correspondent 
office  was  directed  to  be  founded  in  Hispaniola  under  the  direc 
tion  of  Columbus.  The  strictest  regulations  were  promulgated 
for  the  management  of  Indian  affairs.  Columbus  now  prepared 
to  take  his  leave  of  the  sovereigns  ;  he  received  by  their  orders 
from  Francisco  Pinelo  a  thousand  doubloons  of  gold  for  his  ex 
penses  ;  an  order  was  issued  for  supplying  him  and  his  five  domes 
tics  gratuitously  with  all  necessary  entertainment  wherever  he 


Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "Columbus,"  p.  251  ;  Irving's  "Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  282. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  22Q 

arrived  ;  he  was  named  Captain-General  of  the  Fleet  of  the 
Indies,  was  authorized  to  make  all  appointments  to  office  in  the 
new  government,  the  royal  seal  was  confided  to  him  to  be  affixed 
to  such  documents  as  he  might  issue  in  their  names  ;  and  by  a 
solemn  act  the  sovereigns  ratified  and  confirmed  to  him  all  the 
titles  and  privileges  stipulated  for  by  the  compact  entered  into 
at  Santa  F6.  When  he  took  his  final  leave  of  the  king  and  queen 
he  was  conducted  to  his  lodgings  by  the  entire  court  with  great 
pomp  and  honor.  Thus  loaded  with  honors,  dignities,  and 
power,  Columbus  repaired  again  to  the  active  scenes  of  maritime 
preparation.  The  instructions  he  received  for  the  government 
of  the  Indies  were  all  based  upon  his  own  suggestions,  and 
the  prevalence  of  a  zealous  and  devout  impress  is  observable 
through  all  of  them,  which  reflected  the  pious  sentiments,  char 
acters,  and  aspirations  of  Isabella  and  Columbus.  The  conver 
sion  of  the  heathens  was  the  great  feature  in  the  plans  and  in 
structions  stamped  upon  the  new  government.  Twelve  apostolic 
men  were  appointed  missionaries  for  the  new  spiritual  vineyard 
to  be  cultivated  in  the  western  world,  and  a  brief  from  Rome 
appointed  Father  Boi'l,  a  religious  of  the  Benedictine  Order,  to 
be  Vicar- Apostolic  of  the  Indies.  This  apostolic  band  was  fur 
nished  with  a  complete  ecclesiastical  equipment  for  all  religious 
services  and  functions,  and  the  queen  gave  from  her  own  royal 
chapel  the  ornaments  and  vestments  for  the  most  solemn  cere 
monies  of  the  Church.  This  noble  lady,  like  the  admiral,  had 
an  earnest  desire  for  the  conversion  of  the  natives,  and  from 
their  gentleness  and  amiability  of  character  it  was  hoped  that  a 
rich  harvest  of  souls  would  be  gained  for  the  Lord.  The  strict 
est  injunctions  were  given  for  the  punishment  of  any  acts  of  in 
justice  or  wrong  which  Spaniards  might  inflict  on  these  innocent 
people.  It  would  have  been  well  if  adequate  power  and  means 
had  been  given  to  Columbus  to  enforce  this  order. 

When  Ferdinand  heard,  through  his  secret  dispatches  from 
Lisbon,  of  the  designs  of  the  Portuguese  King  to  hasten  an 
expedition  intended  to  appropriate  by  an  early  possession  the 
new  countries  in  the  western  ocean  to  the  crown  of  Portugal, 
orders  were  issued  to  Columbus  and  all  the  officers  of  the  Span 
ish  crown  concerned  in  the  Indian  service  that  the  second  voy 
age  to  the  Indies  should  be  expedited,  and  for  the  sailing  of  the 
fleet  as  soon  as  possible.  In  order  to  defray  the  expenses  of  this 


230  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

noted  expedition,  two  thirds  of  the  church  tithes  were  placed  in 
the  hands  of  Pinelo,  the  funds  realized  from  the  sale  of  the  con 
fiscated  jewels  and  properties  of  the  banished  Jews,  and  in  case 
these  funds  proved  inadequate,  Pinelo  was  authorized  by  a  loan 
to  raise  the  necessary  amounts.  The  military  stores  and  arms 
left  from  the  war  with  the  Moors  were  drawn  into  the  service  of 
the  ships,  provisions  of  all  kinds  were  provided  under  requisi 
tions  of  the  crown,  and  artillery,  powder,  muskets,  lances,  corse 
lets,  cross-bows,  and  other  arms  and  warlike  articles  provided. 
Columbus  was  clothed  with  fuller  powers  of  appointment  to 
office,  and  with  unlimited  powers  for  the  government  and  man 
agement  of  the  crews,  of  the  ships,  and  all  the  establishments 
connected  with  the  Indian  countries.  Rumors  arriving  from 
time  to  time  that  John  II.  was  endeavoring  to  anticipate  the  sail 
ing  of  the  fleet  by  one  of  his  own,  though  it  was  always  treacher 
ously  announced  that  the  Portuguese  ships  were  merely  destined 
for  the  African  coast,  there  was  a  feverish  anxiety  in  Spain  to 
get  the  new  fleet  under  sail,  and  all  the  energies  and  resources 
of  the  kingdom  were  bent  to  this  object.  Columbus  having  left 
the  court  at  Barcelona  on  May  23d,  he  and  Fonseca  and  Soria 
joined  all  their  energies  at  Seville  to  expedite  the  embarcation 
of  the  new  fleet  of  seventeen  vessels.  Pilots  were  engaged,  and 
expert  husbandmen,  miners,  carpenters,  and  mechanics  of  every 
trade  were  enlisted  ;  and  horses  for  military  service  and  for 
agricultural  work  were  purchased,  and  cattle  and  animals  of  all 
kinds,  seeds  and  implements  for  all  purposes  provided.  Living 
plants,  vines,  sugar-canes,  grafts,  saplings  were  to  be  trans 
planted  to  the  virgin  soil  of  the  new  world.  Great  quantities  of 
every  kind  of  merchandise,  besides  trinkets,  beads,  hawks'  bells, 
looking-glasses,  munitions  of  war,  medicines,  wines  and  liquors, 
and  hospital  supplies  for  the  sick. 

The  fame  of  this  great  expedition  spread  throughout  Spain, 
and  was  bruited  throughout  the  world.  The  greatest  enthusiasm 
prevailed  among  all  classes  in  Spain  to  join  it,  and  the  high  and 
the  low  were  led  to  seek  admission  to  the  opportunity  of  realizing 
the  golden  dreams  which  had  been  awakened  by  the  glowing 
accounts  of  Columbus  and  his  companions  of  the  new  countries 
in  the  west.  While  on  the  first  voyage  men  had  to  be  impressed 
and  forced  into  the  service  of  a  forlorn  yet  brilliant  hope,  now 
it  was  impossible  to  answer  the  numerous  applicants  seeking 


ON   COLUMBUS.  23! 

acceptance  or  permission  to  embark.  Some  were  led  by  the 
specimens  of  Indian  gold  exhibited  in  the  admiral's  triumphant 
entry  into  Barcelona  to  go,  in  the  hope  of  soon  returning  with 
boundless  wealth  from  the  transatlantic  mines  ;  others  would 
embark  in  the  trade  of  Oriental  spices,  perfumes,  pearls,  and 
gems.  The  heroes  of  the  Moorish  war  sought  new  fields  for 
military  prowess  in  the  vast  Indian  empires,  and  many  others 
sought  official  position,  consequence,  and  emolument  in  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  Indies.  Spanish  hidalgos,  cavaliers,  and  officers 
now  pressed  for  permission  to  go  to  the  new  world  along  with 
laborers,  mechanics,  and  tradesmen.  To  others  the  conquest 
and  conversion  of  the  heathens  gave  the  new  expedition  the 
grandeur  and  chivalry  of  a  new  crusade.  What  glory  might  not 
be  won  on  those  distant  shores  by  measuring  strength,  valor, 
and  arms  with  the  most  famous  cohorts  of  the  Grand  Khan  ! 
Several  personages  of  distinction  joined  the  expedition.  Among 
these  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  gallant  was  Don  Alonzo  de 
Ojeda,  a  nobleman  distinguished  for  his  personal  beauty,  agility, 
strength,  fearlessness  and  undaunted  prowess,  who  in  the  new 
world  was  to  add  to  the  laurels  already  won  in  the  old. 

There  was  another  person  of  note  in  this  second  expedition, 
the  good  and  learned  friar,  Antonio  de  Marchena,  who,  in  the 
similarity  of  names  and  the  confusion  of  data,  has  been  singularly 
confounded  by  such  writers  as  Navarrete,  Humboldt,  Irving, 
Tarducci,  and  De  Lorgues,  with  that  other  noted  personage  in 
the  history  of  Columbus  and  his  discovery,  Juan  Perez  de 
Marchena,  the  prior  of  the  Convent  of  La  Rabida.*  But  more 
modern  and  recent  researches,  aided  by  the  publication  of  Las 
Casas's  great  work,  have  clearly  shown  that  they  were  two 
different  persons,  the  two  friars  de  Marchena.  f  Deeply  inter 
ested  as  she  was  in  every  detail  of  this  second  expedition,  Queen 
Isabella  wrote  to  Columbus,  on  September  5th,  recommending 
him  to  rely  not  entirely  on  his  own  great  knowledge,  but  to  take 


*  Navarrete,  "  Col.  Dipl.,"  No.  Ixxi.  ;  Humboldt,  "  Cosmos,"  ii.,  p.  255,  note  xiv.  ; 
Tarducci's  "Life  of  Columbus,"  Brownson's  translation,  vol.  i.,  p.  255  ;  De  Lorgues' 
"Columbus,"  Barry's  translation,  p.  252. 

f  Las  Casas,  "Hist.  Ind.,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  xxix.,  xxxi.  ;  Harrisse,  "  Christophe 
Colomb,"  torn,  i.,  pp.  341-72  ;  torn,  ii.,  pp.  227-231  ;  Fiske's  "Discovery  of  Amer- 
jca,"  vol.  i.,  p.  412  ;  Winsor's  "Columbus,"  p.  259. 


232  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

with  him  the  eminent  astronomer,  Fray  Antonio  de  Marchena. 
This  learned  monk  is  the  one  of  whom  Columbus  said  that  he- 
was  the  only  person  who,  from  his  first  arrival  in  Spain,  had 
always  befriended  him  and  never  mocked  at  him.  Of  the  learned 
men  in  Spain,  Fray  Antonio  was  probably  the  most  accomplished 
astronomer,  and  he  is  supposed  to  have  steadfastly  upheld  and 
supported  Columbus  from  the  beginning  from  scientific  consid 
erations,  no  less  than  from  personal  regard. 

Still  another  famous  personage,  whose  name  is  connected  with 
the  second  expedition  of  Columbus  to  the  new  world,  one  who 
acquired  unbounded  fame  from  the  discovery  of  the  Indies  by 
the  admiral,  and,  by  an  almost  unaccountable  stroke  of  fortune, 
won  a  distinction  which  was  due  only  to  Columbus — that  of 
giving  his  name  to  the  new  World.  This  was  Amerigo  Ves 
pucci,  whose  name  as  Latinized  was  Americus  Vespucius.  He 
did  not,  however,  as  erroneously  stated  by  Count  de  Lorgues 
and  Dr.  Barry,  accompany  the  second  expedition  ;  his  connec 
tion  with  it  consisted  in  assisting  his  employer,  Juanoto  Berardi, 
a  Florentine  merchant  then  settled  in  Seville,  who  took  part  in 
the  business  preparations  and  contracts  for  the  outfit  of  the  voy 
age,  and  Americus  was  his  clerk.  He  was  then  regarded  as 
a  man  of  arithmetical,  cosmographical,  and  polite  learning. 
Americus  was  at  this  time  forty-two  years  of  age,  and  it  was 
during  these  busy  days  of  preparation  for  the  second  voyage 
that  Columbus  saw  for  the  first  time  and  perhaps  frequently  the 
man,  whose  very  name  was  destined  to  exert  a  potent  influence 
on  the  fortunes  and  fame  of  the  great  discoverer. 

Among  the  noted  persons  who  sailed  on  this  important  expedi 
tion  should  be  mentioned  Giacomo  Colombo,  the  younger  brother 
of  the  admiral,  who  now  assumed  the  corresponding  Spanish 
name  of  Diego  Colon,  and  who  had  remained  with  the  father  at 
Genoa  until  a  summons  from  the  successful  discoverer  of  the 
Indies  brought  him  to  Spain  ;  also  Pedro  Margarite,  a  gentle 
man  from  Aragon  and  favorite  of  King  Ferdinand,  whose  name 
has  not  come  down  to  us  with  honorable  renown,  as  it  might 
have  done  ;  the  celebrated  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  the  hero  and 
namer  of  Florida  ;  Francisco  de  Las  Casas,  the  father  of  the 
illustrious  Bartolom6  de  Las  Casas,  historian,  bishop  and  philan 
thropist,  and  the  famous  pilot,  Juan  de  La  Cosa,  so  noted  for  his 
maps  and  charts.  It  is  no  compliment  to  the  above  to  name  with. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  233 

them  the  notorious  Roldan,  the  rebel,  who  afterward  embittered 
the  life  and  efforts  of  Columbus. 

While  the  number  of  persons  who  were  to  be  permitted  to  join 
the  expedition  was  limited  to  one  thousand,  so  great  was  the 
pressure  for  admission  and  participation  in  the  expected  glories, 
profits,  and  renown  to  be  reaped  from  it,  that  the  Spanish  sover 
eigns  yielded  to  the  general  importunity  and  increased  the  num 
ber  of  the  fortunate  ones,  as  it  seemed  at  the  time,  to  twelve  hun 
dred.  The  officers,  missionaries,  and  men  of  various  occupa 
tions  in  the  pay  of  the  crown  amounted  to  five  hundred  ;  the 
others,  persons  of  every  grade  and  class,  and  of  every  age  and 
condition,  amounted  to  seven  hundred.  Even  then  many  had  to 
endure  the  disappointment  of  refusal  ;  but  at  the  last  moment  as 
many  as  three  hundred  more  succeeded  in  surreptitiously  getting 
on  board  the  ships  and  secreting  themselves  until  the  fleet  had 
sailed,  thus  increasing  the  entire  number  to  fifteen  hundred. 
Columbus,  in  his  great  zeal  for  the  prestige  and  success  of  the 
important  expedition,  spared  no  effort  and  no  expense  to  add  to 
its  efficiency  and  results.  Thus  the  expenses  of  the  preparations 
necessarily  exceeded  the  estimates,  and  who  could  then  estimate 
for  so  unexampled  an  enterprise  ?  Fonseca  and  Soria  complained 
much  at  this,  and  hesitated,  and  even  refused  to  pass  the  ad 
miral's  accounts.  Thus  commenced  the  first  outward  manifesta 
tions  of  the  jealousy  and  ill-will  cherished  by  these  officials 
against  him.  They  went  so  far  as  to  come  into  unpleasant  con 
flict  with  him,  and  on  several  occasions  to  treat  him  with  dis 
courtesy  and  rudeness.  Repeated  reprimands  from  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella  only  served  to  suppress  the  outward  exhibition  of  a 
hatred  now  more  than  ever  secretly  cherished.  When  it  came 
to  passing  the  personal  accounts  and  requisitions  of  the  admiral, 
their  malice  could  not  be  disguised.  They  demurred  to  his  req 
uisitions  for  footmen  and  other  domestics  for  his  personal  and 
immediate  service,  his  household  and  retinue,  pretending  to  re 
gard  these  requisitions  as  superfluous,  and  alleging  that  he  had 
at  his  service  and  command  the  whole  personnel  of  the  fleet.  The 
sovereigns  gravely  reprimanded  these  officious  placemen  for 
their  unworthy  treatment  of  so  eminent  a  person.  Columbus, 
on  his  part,  insisted  now,  as  he  had  done  in  his  negotiations  with 
the  sovereigns,  upon  the  full  measure  of  his  terms  and  rights. 
Orders  from  Barcelona  now  settled  the  dispute  by  fixing  his 


234  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

domestic  retinue  at  ten  squires  afoot  bearing  swords,*  and  his 
other  domestics  at  twenty  ;  and  Fonseca  was  cautioned  against 
interfering  with  the  wishes  or  comforts  of  the  admiral,  or  oppos 
ing  his  requisitions.  He  and  his  subordinates  obeyed,  but  these 
transactions  only  added  to  the  rancor  of  the  admiral's  enemies, 
and  it  was  reserved  for  Fonseca  and  his  abettors  to  vent  their 
malignant  hatred  against  the  man  in  various  petty  ways  in  the 
future  prosecution  of  the  enterprises  in  the  new  world.  As  long 
as  he  lived  they  contrived  to  throw  impediments  in  his  way, 
while  pretending  or  not  seeming  to  do  so. 

Again,  while  the  expedition  was  on  the  eve  of  sailing,  the 
Spanish  sovereigns  received  secret  advices  of  preparations  made 
in  Portugal  for  the  sailing  of  a  ship,  ostensibly  to  the  African 
coast,  but  with  concealed  orders  to  sail  westward,  and  circum 
vent  the  prosecution  of  Spanish  discoveries  under  Columbus. 
The  latter  now  received  the  most  urgent  requests  from  the  sov 
ereigns  not  to  delay  the  sailing  of  his  fleet  another  hour.  The 
expedition  consisted  of  three  large  ships  of  heavy  burden  and 
fourteen  caravels.  The  admiral's  ship  was  the  Gracious  Mary, 
and  in  addition  to  and  including  some  of  the  remarkable  person 
ages  I  have  mentioned  as  going  on  the  expedition,  there  were  on 
board  the  admiral's  ship,  besides  himself,  Gil  Garcia,  alcalde- 
mayor  ;  Bernal  Diaz  de  Pisa,  lieutenant  of  the  Comptroller-Gen 
eral  ;  Sebastian  da  Olano,  receiver  of  the  crown  taxes  ;  Dr. 
Chanca,  the  chief  physician  ;  a  number  of  Spanish  hidalgos  ; 
Melchior  Maldonada,  cousin  of  the  cosmographer  of  that  name  ; 
two  of  the  baptized  Indians  now  returning  to  their  homes,  one 
of  whom  had  for  his  godfather  Diego  Columbus,  and  was  named 
after  him  Diego  Colon,  and  Diego  Columbus  himself,  the 
younger  brother  of  the  admiral.  At  the  moment  of  sailing 
the  city  of  Cadiz  and  its  beautiful  harbor  were  alive  with  ex 
citement,  with  bustle,  immediate  preparation,  the  hurrying  to 
and  fro  of  members  of  the  expedition  and  their  friends,  and 
many  were  the  sympathetic  and  heart-felt  adieus  then  fervently 
exchanged.  The  scene  was  gay  and  joyous,  and  the  old  city  and 
its  harbor  had  never  looked  so  brilliant,  so  active,  so  enchanting. 
There  were  seen  the  cavalier,  the  navigator,  the  adventurer  and 


*  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus."  Brownson's  translation,  vol.   i.,  p.   254  ;  Navar- 
rete,  "Col.  Dipl .,"  vol.  i.,  p.  225  ;  Irving's  "Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  298. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  235 

speculator,  the  sailor,  the  artisan,  the  husbandman,  the  pilot, 
and,  last  but  not  least,  the  zealous  and  venerable  missionary  ; 
while  others  were  seeking  worldly  honors  or  wealth,  the  last  was 
intent  on  gaining  souls  for  heaven,  the  imperishable  treasures  of 
immortality. 

In  the  midst  of  this  scene  of  hurrying  preparation  and  of  ardent 
sensations,  Columbus  was  the  object  of  universal  interest,  admira 
tion,  and  veneration.  Every  one  pressed  forward  to  see  and 
honor  the  discoverer  of  continents.  His  lofty  stature,  his  com 
manding  presence,  and  his  noble  and  engaging  expression  of 
countenance  attracted  every  eye,  and  made  every  tongue  elo 
quent  in  his  praise.  He  was  attended  by  his  two  sons,  Diego 
and  Fernando,  who  had  come  to  spend  the  last  moments  with 
their  illustrious  parent,  and  to  bid  him  farewell.  The  admiral 
had  been  for  several  days  quite  unwell  in  consequence  of  the 
great  labors  of  mind  and  body  which  he  had  undergone  in  the 
preparations  made  for  hastening  the  urgent  voyage.  But  when 
a  favorable  wind  decided  the  selection  of  the  day  for  sailing,  his 
mind  rallied  under  the  excitement  of  duty  and  hope,  and  he 
sailed  with  his  fine  fleet  from  the  ancient  and  renowned  port  of 
Cadiz  on  the  morning  of  September  25th,  1493. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

"  There  is  a  traveler,  sir  ;  knowns  men, 
Mariners,  and  has  plough'd  the  sea  so  far 
Till  both  the  polls  have  knock'd  ;  he  has  seen  the  sun 
Take  coach,  and  can  distinguish  the  color 
Of  his  horses,  and  their  kinds." 

— BEAUMONT  AND  FLETCHER'S  "SCORNFUL  LADY." 

THE  crucial  line  had  been  drawn  by  Pope  Alexander  VI.,  by 
which  the  demarcation  between  the  east  and  west  was  estab 
lished.  Spain  and  Portugal  had  separate  fields  assigned  to  them 
for  discovering  and  taking  possession  of  the  unknown  lands  and 
waters  of  the  earth's  surface,  and  for  extending  the  realms  of 
Christendom.  Columbus,  on  his  second  voyage,  steered  clear 
of  the  islands  within  the  realms  assigned  to  Portugal,  and  of  all 
her  possessions.  The  line  of  demarcation  was  his  own  discov 
ery.  It  proved  the  solution  of  the  question  of  peace  or  war. 
Making  for  the  Canaries,  he  touched  at  the  Grand  Canary  on 
October  ist,  and,  departing  the  next  day,  he  anchored  at  Gomera, 
where  he  took  in  wood  and  water,  and  procured,  for  stocking 
the  new  countries,  calves,  goats,  and  sheep,  which  he  thought 
could  be  more  easily  acclimated  there  than  animals  taken  from 
Spain.  He  also  purchased  eight  hogs,  which  formed  the  parent 
stock  for  nearly  all  the  abounding  swine  of  the  islands  and  of  the 
new  continent,  and  which  now  supply  Europe  and  other  parts  of 
the  earth  with  American  pork.  So  also  with  the  domestic  fowls 
and  the  seeds  of  oranges,  lemons,  melons,  bergamots,  and  various 
orchard  seeds,  all  which  were  thus  introduced  by  the  discoverer 
of  the  new  world  himself. 

After  sailing  from  Gomera,  the  admiral  handed  to  the  com 
mander  of  each  ship  a  sealed  letter,  to  be  opened  only  in  case  of 
separation,  and  by  which  they  were  instructed  to  steer  for  His- 
paniola  and  for  the  residence  of  Guacanagari.  It  is  said  that  he 
purposely  kept  his  exact  course  somewhat  in  doubt,  in  order  to 
prevent  the  Portuguese  from  becoming  acquainted  with  it.  Be 
calmed  among  the  Canaries,  it  was  not  until  October  I3th  that 


ON  COLUMBUS.  237 

he  could  get  under  weigh  with  a  favorable  wind.  He  directed 
his  course  to  the  southwest  with  the  view  of  reaching  first  the 
Caribbean  Islands,  of  which  he  had  received  such  strange  accounts 
from  his  Hispaniola  Indians.  No  seaweeds  were  encountered 
on  the  voyage,  but  the  appearance  of  a  swallow  on  one  day  and 
on  others  the  prevalence  of  sudden  showers  of  rain  convinced 
the  admiral  that  land  was  not  far  off.  Toward  the  end  of  October 
a  severe  thunder-storm,  which  lasted  four  hours,  greatly  alarmed 
the  sailors,  but  their  confidence  was  restored  at  seeing  the  play 
of  the  wavering  flames  of  lightning  among  the  masts  and  rigging 
of  the  ships,  which  was  regarded  as  a  sign  of  good  omen.  They 
saw  in  them  the  apparition  of  St.  Elmo,  whom  they  would 
usually,  and  according  to  ancient  marine  traditions,  salute  with 
reverence,  and  whose  appearance  was  not  infrequently  received 
by  mariners  with  tears  of  joy.  The  admiral  felt  calmly  confident 
of  safely  reaching  his  destination,  because  he  had  from  the  begin 
ning  of  the  voyage  placed  it  under  the  protection  of  the  pa 
troness  in  whose  honor  he  had  named  his  ship,  the  Gracious 
Mary,  and  he  had  promised  to  give  her  name  to  islands  he 
would  discover.  Such  was  his  experience  and  good  judgment 
as  a  sailor,  that  he  announced  his  belief  that  land  was  near  on 
Saturday,  November  2d.  On  the  following  day  the  land  ap 
peared,  and  a  hymn  of  thanksgiving,  the  "  Salve  Regina,"  was 
joyously  chanted  by  all  the  crews.  As  the  ships  speeded  on,  one 
island  after  another  came  in  sight.  He  named  the  first  island 
Dominica,  in  honor  of  the  Sunday  on  which  it  was  discovered, 
and  the  second  island  he  called  Maria  Galanta  ;  and  here  he 
landed,  bearing  the  royal  banner,  and  took  possession  for  the 
Spanish  sovereigns.  The  largest  island  of  the  group  he  called 
Guadaloupe,  in  honor  of  Our  Lady  of  Guadaloupe,  in  Spain. 
Columbus,  with  his  usual  sagacity,  had  struck  the  very  centre  of 
the  Caribbean  Islands,  as  he  had  desired,  and  on  landing  at  the 
island  of  Guadaloupe,  which  the  natives  called  Turuguiera,  and 
visiting  the  cabins,  which  they  had  just  abandoned  on  his  ap 
proach,  he  saw  the  evidences  that  the  natives  were  cannibals. 
In  the  cabins  were  also  found  provisions,  cotton  spun  and  un- 
spun,  hammocks,  utensils  of  earthenware,  bows  and  arrows  and 
domesticated  geese,  and  parrots  of  many-colored  plumage.  But 
the  sight  of  human  bones,  the  remnants  of  their  shocking  repasts, 
and  human  skulls,  which  were  apparently  used  as  vases  for 


238  OLD  AND  NEW  LIGHTS 

domestic  purposes,  greatly  agitated  the  Spaniards.  The  natives 
fled  on  the  approach  of  the  visitors,  who,  having  continued  their 
course  about  two  leagues  and  anchored  in  a  convenient  harbor, 
and  having  landed,  saw  a  number  of  deserted  villages  on  the 
shores,  and  finally  succeeded  in  capturing  a  boy  and  several 
women.  From  their  captives  they  learned  that  the  natives  of 
this  and  two  adjoining  islands  were  in  league  against  the  others, 
and  in  warlike  expeditions  supplied  themselves  with  human  food 
by  capturing  and  feasting  upon  their  enemies.  Not  only  did 
they  kill  and  consume  their  captives,  they  even  fattened  them 
for  their  cannibal  feasts.  Their  principal  weapons  were  bows 
and  arrows,  the  latter  being  pointed  with  poisoned  shells  or 
bones  of  fishes. 

At  evening  Diego  Marque,  captain  of  one  of  the  caravels,  and 
eight  men,  who  had  gone  into  the  country,  had  not  returned  to 
their  ship,  and  the  admiral  and  his  companions  concluded  that 
they  had  been  killed  and  eaten  by  the  natives.  Next  day  scout 
ing  parties  well  armed  were  sent  to  scour  the  island  in  search  of 
the  missing  Spaniards  ;  trumpets  were  sounded  and  guns  dis 
charged,  but  these  guides  did  not  bring  back  the  wanderers. 
The  scouting  parties  visited  many  towns,  and  had  their  feelings 
much  disturbed  by  seeing  human  limbs  suspended  to  the  beams 
of  houses,  and  they  saw  the  suspended  head  of  a  young  man  still 
bleeding,  portions  of  his  body  roasting  before  the  fire,  and  other 
portions  being  boiled  together  with  the  flesh  of  parrots  and  geese. 
The  cannibal  warriors  were  absent  on  one  of  their  inhuman  ex 
peditions,  the  women,  who  were  expert  archers  and  almost  as 
masculine  as  the  men,  remaining  at  home  to  defend  the  country 
from  invasion  and  the  villages  from  plunder.  Columbus  allowed 
nothing  to  be  taken  which  belonged  to  them.  As  the  missing 
party  had  not  been  found  or  heard  from,  Alonzo  de  Ojeda  was 
sent  out  in  search  of  them  with  forty  men,  and,  after  penetrating 
far  into  the  interior,  returned  without  them.  In  the  mean  time, 
Columbus,  who  was  anxious  to  reach  Hispaniola,  had  caused  the 
ships  to  take  in  wood  and  water,  and  was  preparing  to  sail, 
though  unwilling  to  do  so  without  recovering  the  lost  part  of  his 
crews.  Eight  days  had  elapsed,  the  fleet  was  about  to  sail,  when 
at  last,  to  the  great  joy  of  all,  Diego  Marque  and  his  companions 
made  their  appearance  at  the  shore,  and  were  received  on  the 
fleet  now  ready  to  sail.  They  brought  with  them  ten  Indian 


ON   COLUMBUS.  239 

women  and  boys.  They  had  not  throughout  their  wanderings 
met  with  a  single  man  ;  they  had  lost  their  way  in  the  dark  and 
trackless  forest,  had  suffered  with  hunger,  fatigue  and  fear,  and 
returned  to  the  fleet  with  haggard  and  exhausted  aspects,  and 
felt  like  men  just  rescued  from  a  certain  death.  Columbus, 
while  commiserating  their  sufferings,  regarded  their  conduct  as 
a  serious  breach  of  discipline,  and  from  a  sense  of  duty  he  put 
the  captain  under  arrest,  and  stopped  a  part  of  the  rations  of  the 
men.  As  the  fleet  was  ready  to  weigh  anchor  when  the  wan 
derers  reappeared,  no  further  time  was  lost,  and  the  fleet  sailed  on 
November  loth,  steering  to  the  northwest. 

While  steering  through  this  beautiful  archipelago,  the  admiral 
discovered  island  after  island.  The  first,  a  high  and  picturesque 
island,  was  wholly  depopulated  by  the  Caribs  in  their  predatory 
expeditions  in  search  of  human  food.  This  he  called  Montserrat, 
in  honor  of  the  celebrated  sanctuary  of  the  Virgin  Mother  of  the 
hermitage  of  Montserrat  in  Spain.  He  wrote  :  "  The  Caribs 
have  devoured  all  the  inhabitants."  The  next  island  was  named 
Santa  Maria  del  Rotunda,  and  the  third  Santa  Maria  la  Antigua, 
now  known  by  the  abbreviated  name  of  Antigua.  The  third  day 
brought  the  Spaniards  in  contact  with  the  Caribs.  Landing  on 
an  island  which  showed  some  signs  of  habitation  and  civilization, 
a  party  was  sent  on  shore  for  wood  and  water,  and  to  obtain 
information.  They  entered  a  village,  which  was  deserted  by  the 
men,  and  secured  several  women  and  boys,  who  were  captives 
from  other  islands.  As  the  boat  was  returning,  the  men  saw  a 
canoe  turn  a  point  of  the  island  and  come  in  view  of  the  ships  ; 
it  was  occupied  by  four  men  and  two  women,  all  of  whom  were 
so  amazed  and  so  intently  gazing  at  the  ships  that  they  did  not 
observe  the  movement  of  the  Spaniards'  boat,  which  came  in 
between  them  and  the  shore,  until  to  their  amazement  their  re 
treat  was  cut  off.  As  soon  as  they  saw  this  they  all  seized  their 
bows  and  arrows  and  furiously  attacked  the  Spaniards,  who 
covered  themselves  with  their  bucklers,  but  not  until  two  of 
them  had  been  wounded.  The  women  fought  as  furiously  as  the 
men,  handled  the  weapons  with  equal  strength  and  skill,  and  one 
of  them  discharged  an  arrow  with  such  force  as  to  penetrate 
through  and  through  a  stout  buckler.  The  Carib  canoe  was 
overturned  by  the  boat  of  the  Spaniards  by  running  against  it  ; 
the  men  and  women  in  the  water  were  expert  swimmers  ;  they 


240  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

discharged  their  arrows  as  well  from  the  water  as  from  the  boat. 
They  all  escaped  except  one,  and  such  was  the  ferocity  of  this 
savage,  that  even  when  bound  in  chains  and  in  the  hands  of  the 
Spaniards  he  was  as  fierce  and  defiant  as  ever.  The  natives 
used  poisoned  arrows,  and  one  of  the  Spaniards  died  a  few  days 
afterward  from  a  poisoned  arrow  with  which  he  had  been 
wounded  by  one  of  the  Carib  women.  The  Carib  prisoner  also 
died  of  a  wound  he  received  in  the  struggle  with  the  Spaniards. 
Continuing  his  course,  the  admiral  discovered  many  more 
islands.  To  one  he  gave  the  name  of  Holy  Cross  ;  to  another, 
St.  John  Baptist  ;  and  to  another,  St.  Ursula  ;  and  a  group  of 
islands  he  named  the  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins,  in  honor  of  those 
who  were  the  companions  of  St.  Ursula  in  martyrdom,  according 
to  one  of  the  most  interesting  traditions  of  the  Middle  Ages. 
Some  of  these  islands  were  well  inhabited  by  people,  who  lived  in 
neat  cottages,  showed  ingenuity  in  their  houses  and  gardens,  and 
defended  themselves  from  the  Caribs  by  the  use  of  bows  and  arrows 
and  the  war  club.  To  this  island  had  fled  the  entire  remaining 
population  of  the  other  islands  ravaged  by  the  Caribs,  and  here 
they  were  all  united  under  one  cacique.  The  admiral  wrote 
most  minute  and  accurate  accounts  of  these  cannibals,  which 
deeply  interested  the  scholars  of  Europe.  The  learned  had 
doubted  the  stories  of  human  flesh-eaters,  which  they  regarded 
as  myths  of  former  times,  but  now  the  accounts  of  the  Lestrigo- 
nians  and  of  Polyphemus  had  become  authenticated  by  the  de 
scription  given  by  Columbus  of  the  Caribs  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
and  their  repasts  on  human  flesh.  The  existence  of  this  fierce 
tribe,  in  the  midst  of  the  other  and  neighboring  islands  inhabited 
by  gentle,  peaceful,  and  unwarlike  people,  was  a  singular  histori 
cal,  social,  and  ethnological  fact.  While  prejudice  and  fear 
have,  no  doubt,  tended  to  exaggerate  their  cruel  ferocity  and 
shocking  love  for  human  flesh  for  their  food,  there  can  be  no 
question  of  their  existence  as  a  distinct  tribe  and  of  their  being 
cannibals,  of  their  warlike  habits  and  merciless  inroads  upon 
their  weaker  and  more  peaceful  neighbors.  Inquiries  by  the 
learned  have  led  to  the  general  adoption  of  the  view  that  they 
were  a  colony  of  the  warlike  people  inhabiting  the  deep  valleys 
of  the  Appalachian  Mountains  ;  that  they  had  fought  their  way 
across  the  northern  continent  until  they  reached  the  end  of  the 
Florida  peninsula,  and  thence  made  their  way,  from  island  to 


ON   COLUMBUS.  241 

island,  until  they  had  founded  their  permanent  home  in  the  group 
of  islands  of  which  Guadaloupe  was  the  centre.  Traces  of  this 
fierce  tribe  are  found  in  the  South  American  Continent  and 
through  its  interior,  and  even  as  far  as  the  southern  ocean,  for 
.among  the  aborigines  of  Brazil  were  found  Indians  calling  them 
selves  Caribs.  Wherever  their  descendants  have  thus  been 
traced  they  formed  a  contrast  with  the  other  populations  or 
tribes  by  their  greater  strength,  endurance,  and  fearlessness.* 

The  admiral  now  took  leave  of  his  fierce  acquaintances,  the 
Caribs,  and  with  a  sagacity  and  memory  for  which  he  was  re 
markable,  he  steered  almost  directly  for  Hispaniola,  though  he 
<had  never  traversed  this  route  before,  and  none  of  his  former 
•companions  recognized  the  island  when  his  superior  discernment 
•confidently  pointed  it  out  to  them.  On  November  22d  the  fleet 
.arrived  off  the  eastern  extremity  of  Hispaniola,  the  Hayti  of  the 
natives,  and  while  the  others  were  eager  to  land  after  a  long 
voyage  and  enjoy  the  delights  of  this  favored  land,  as  described 
to  them  by  those  who  had  accompanied  the  admiral  on  the  first 
voyage,  the  latter  was  painfully  anxious  to  revisit  the  colony  and 
garrison  of  La  Navidad  and  learn  the  results  of  the  effort  to  en 
graft  European  civilization  on  the  new  world.  Having  had  occa 
sion  to  send  a  party  ashore  to  bury  a  young  Biscayan,  who  had 
died  on  board  one  of  the  ships  from  a  wound  received  in  the 
conflict  with  the  Caribs,  the  news  of  the  arrival  of  the  great  fleet 
of  ships  from  the  clouds  was  soon  spread  among  the  inhabitants, 
and  many  visited  the  fleet  with  invitations  to  the  admiral  and  his 
companions  to  land,  and  with  promises  of  much  gold.  One  of 
the  converted  Indians  who  had  been  brought  back  from  Spain 
was  liberated  by  the  admiral,  after  being  handsomely  dressed  in 
fine  clothes  and  well  provided  with  presents,  in  the  hope  that  his 
.accounts  would  predispose  the  natives  favorably.  But  this 
Indian  is  supposed  to  have  been  murdered  by  his  countrymen, 
^envious  of  his  wealth  in  raiment,  for  no  tidings  were  afterward 
received  of  him.  There  still  remained  on  board  another  con 
verted  Indian,  the  godson  and  namesake  of  Diego  Columbus, 
who  continued  to  the  end  true  to  his  new  faith  and  to  his  new 
friends.  The  admiral  declined  all  invitations  to  visit  this  part  of 


*  Irving's   "Life  of  Columbus,"   vol.  i.,  p.   318;  "Hist.    Nat.    des  lies  Antilles,' 
Rochefort  ;  Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  p.  267. 


242  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

the  island,  and  hastened  on  toward  La  Navidad.  On  November 
25th  he  anchored  off  Monte  Christi,  and  was  observant  of  the 
country  in  hopes  of  finding  a  more  suitable  place  for  a  permanent 
settlement.  Here,  while  some  of  the  sailors  were  wandering 
along  the  shore,  they  descried  the  dead  bodies  of  a  man  and  boy, 
so  far  decomposed  as  to  baffle  all  conjecture  as  to  whether  they 
were  Indians  or  Spaniards  ;  but  the  man  had  a  cord  of  Spanish 
grass  around  his  neck,  and  his  arms  were  tied  to  a  stake  in  the. 
form  of  a  cross.  This  discovery  produced  a  deep  gloom  in  the 
mind  of  Columbus  and  of  all  his  followers,  and  sad  apprehen 
sions  as  to  the  fate  of  the  garrison  of  La  Navidad.  On  the  fol 
lowing  day  a  party  of  Spaniards  visited  the  shore,  and  to  their 
dismay  they  found,  in  a  spot  some  distance  from  the  place  where 
they  had  seen  the  dead  bodies  the  day  before,  two  other  dead 
bodies,  and  now  there  was  no  doubt  as  to  their  being  Spaniards,, 
for  one  of  them  had  a  long  beard.  The  dread  apprehensions 
thus  awakened  were  not  wholly  allayed  by  the  confidence  and 
frankness  with  which  the  natives  visited  the  ships,  and  yet  the 
admiral  could  but  hope  that  his  colony  might  yet  be  found  in 
safety  and  health. 

The  admiral  and  his  fleet  reached  the  harbor  of  La  Navidad 
on  the  evening  of  November  27th,  and,  as  it  was  too  late  to  land, 
he  anchored  a  league  from  the  shore  ;  but  he  could  not  wait  till 
morning  to  ascertain  the  fate  of  his  colonists.  He  accordingly 
had  two  cannons  fired,  but  the  only  response  was  their  own  echo 
along  the  shore  ;  no  light  appeared  on  land  to  show  there  was 
life  in  the  colony,  no  shout  of  welcome  greeted  their  ears  ;  silence 
and  darkness  reigned  where  the  first  European  colony  had  been 
planted.  At  midnight  an  Indian  canoe  approached  the  admiral's 
ship,  and  the  occupants,  calling  out,  asked  to  see  him.  Seeing 
and  recognizing  him,  they  entered  his  ship.  One  of  the  Indians 
was  a  cousin  of  the  friendly  cacique,  Guacanagari  ;  and,  on  being 
questioned,  the  Indians  told  the  admiral  that  some  of  the  Span 
iards  had  been  carried  off  by  disease,  others  had  fallen  victims  to 
others  in  a  quarrel  among  themselves,  and  others  had  gone  into 
the  country  and  taken  Indian  wives  ;  that  Guacanagari  had  been 
attacked  by  Caonabo,  the  savage  chief  of  Cibao,  had  been 
wounded  and  defeated  in  the  engagement,  his  village  was  burned, 
and  the  good  cacique  lay  wounded  in  a  neighboring  hamlet.  As 
he  could  not  come  in  person  to  welcome  the  admiral,  he  had 


ON   COLUMBUS.  243 

sent  these  envoys.  Sad  as  the  news  was,  the  admiral  was  re 
lieved  by  the  thought  that  the  garrison  had  not  been  murdered 
by  the  natives,  and  he  hoped  soon  to  recall  those  who  had  gone 
into  the  country.  His  kindly  nature  led  him  to  take  the  most 
favorable  view  of  the  situation,  and  all  the  officers  and  sailors 
enjoyed  a  feeling  of  relief  and  a  ray  of  hope.  But  on  the  follow 
ing  day  Guacanagari  did  not  come  to  the  admiral,  as  he  had 
promised  by  his  deputies,  and  instead  of  seeing  the  harbor  and 
the  shores  swarming  with  Indians,  eager  to  welcome  him  and  to 
give  and  receive  presents,  the  scene  was  one  vast  wilderness, 
buried  in  silence  and  gloom.  After  a  day's  weary  delay  and 
sad  disappointment,  Columbus  sent  a  boat's  crew  on  shore  to 
look  for  the  Spaniards  and  the  garrison  ;  but  alas  !  these  returned 
with  dejected  looks  that  told  the  sad  story  before  they  had 
spoken  a  word.  They  found  the  fortress  a  ruin,  with  its  pali 
sades  beaten  down,  and  it  had  evidently  been  sacked  and  burned. 
Chests  broken  open,  decaying  food  and  shreds  of  tattered  gar 
ments  were  all  that  remained.  Neither  Spaniard  nor  Indian  was 
there,  but  they  saw  at  a  distance  one  or  two  natives  watching 
them  from  the  woods,  and  disappearing  on  perceiving  that  they 
were  seen.  With  thoughts  most  gloomy  and  sad  the  admiral 
went  ashore  next  day  in  person,  and  having  gone  directly  to  the 
site  of  the  fort,  not  only  saw  the  desolation  and  ruin  of  all,  but 
also  visited  the  site  of  the  burned  village  of  Guacanagari.  Both 
Spaniards  and  Indian  allies  had  met  with  one  sad  and  similar 
fate.  A  slight  relief  was  experienced  in  the  thought  and  hope 
that  Guacanagari  had  not  proved  a  traitor. 

Recalling  his  instructions  to  Arana,  he  ordered  his  men  to 
search  for  the  spots  in  which  he  might  have  buried  the  gold  he 
gathered,  and  to  look  into  the  wells  to  see  if  it  was  hidden  there. 
He  went  in  his  boats  to  explore  the  coasts  and  neighboring 
country,  but  all  he  found  was  a  deserted  village  containing  such 
articles  as  stockings,  European  cloth,  a  new  Moorish  robe,  and 
other  articles  that  the  Spaniards  could  not  be  supposed  to  have 
willingly  parted  with.  The  treasure  was  not  found  in  pit  or 
well,  but  they  discovered  the  graves  of  eleven  Spaniards,  so 
long  buried  that  the  grass  had  grown  over  them.  A  few  Indians 
timidly  showed  themselves.  By  finally  assuring  them  they  be 
came  confidential  and  communicative,  and  Columbus  learned 
gradually  from  them  the  appalling  story  of  the  awful  fate  which 


244  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

had  destroyed,  in  its  first  effort,  the  transplanting  of  the  Euro 
pean  race  and  its  civilization  to  the  new  world. 

Had  the  garrison  of  European  intruders  been  overpowered  by 
the  swarming  hordes  of  natives  and  destroyed  by  brute  force  or 
vastly  preponderating  numbers,  or  had  their  Indian  friend  and 
ally,  Guacanagari,  turned  traitor  and  betrayed  to  their  destruc 
tion  those  to  whom  he  pledged  his  protection  and  offered  his 
hospitality,  the  case  would  not  have  been  so  discouraging. 
Time,  repeated  efforts,  and  the  certainty  of  European  success 
and  power  in  the  end,  would  have  reassured  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  the  admiral,  of  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  of  the  Christian 
Church  and  missionaries  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  great  and  good 
and  learned  friends  of  human  progress,  the  leading  men  of  the 
times.  But  that  this  first  footprint  of  European  society  should 
have  been  obliterated  by  the  baseness  and  sordidness  of  Euro 
pean  crimes  and  vices  ;  that  this  first  germ  of  Christianity,  trans 
planted  to  the  virgin  soil  of  the  Western  Hemisphere,  should 
have  perished  by  the  misdeeds  of  the  very  Christians  that  were 
its  heralds,  were  facts  most  humiliating,  at  once  to  our  civiliza 
tion  and  to  our  religion.  In  history  and  in  all  human  efforts  re 
sults  are  greatly  dependent  upon  the  agents  selected  to  accom 
plish  them.  Withering  was  the  contrast  between  the  virtues, 
wisdom,  and  patriotism  of  Columbus,  of  the  Spanish  Queen,  and 
of  the  Christian  scholars  and  apostles  of  Europe,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  vices,  the  recklessness,  and  the  sordid  avarice  of 
the  first  European  colonists,  who  were  selected  to  found  the 
Christian  faith  and  Caucasian  civilization  among  the  heathen  and 
savage  nations  of  the  western  world.  With  the  exception  of 
Arana,  their  commander,  they  were  mostly  men  of  the  lowest 
grades  of  society,  and  were  steeped  in  the  worst  vices  and  pas 
sions  of  the  most  degraded  classes  of  human  society,  without 
possessing  the  virtues  which  are  common  to  all. 

During  the  admiral's  visit  to  the  desolated  site  of  the  ruined 
fort  other  Indians  gradually  came  thither,  and  among  them  came 
a  brother  of  Guacanagari,  escorted  with  guards,  who  saluted 
Columbus  in  Spanish,  and  related  to  him  the  same  distressing 
and  humiliating  history  he  had  already  learned  from  the  natives  ; 
and  yet  more  forcibly  from  the  desolation  he  saw  around  him 
than  from  the  decaying  corpses  of  the  Spaniards  exhumed,  he 


ON   COLUMBUS.  245 

learned  the  history  of  this  sad  result.  Oviedo*  relates  in  detail 
this  story,  at  once  a  disgrace  to  civilization  and  a  betrayal  of  re 
ligion.  Nothing  had  been  left  undone  or  unspoken  by  Colum 
bus,  when  he  confided  the  cause  of  mankind  in  its  advance  from 
the  Eastern  to  the  Western  Continent,  that  might  secure  its 
safety  and  its  success.  The  men  he  selected  for  this  all-impor 
tant  task  were  the  best  his  limited  resources  would  afford  ;  but, 
with  the  exception  of  Don  Diego  de  Aranaand  one  or  two  others, 
they  proved  unfit  for  the  noble  work  they  undertook,  and  faith 
less  to  the  exalted  mission  they  had  to  perform.  His  wise  and 
far-seeing  counsels  and  admonitions  to  these  men  vanished  from 
their  minds  with  the  disappearance  of  his  ship  on  its  homeward 
course  from  their  sight.  Ordinary  regard  for  their  own  safety, 
and  for  the  restraints  which  their  position  as  a  handful  of 
strangers  in  a  far  distant  world  and  surrounded  by  strange  and 
heathen  tribes  of  savages  imposed  upon  them,  should  have  been 
sufficient  to  guide  them  in  paths  of  order,  discipline,  self-restraint, 
and  honor.  That  they  should  have  yielded,  almost  immediately, 
to  every  excess  in  their  conduct  toward  the  natives,  and  to  the 
worst  impulses  in  their  dealings  and  intercourse  with  each  other, 
are  facts  which  illustrate  the  depths  of  depravity  to  which  human 
nature  may  sink.  While  a  portion  of  the  Spanish  garrison  avari 
ciously  sought  to  despoil  the  natives  of  every  piece  of  gold  they 
possessed,  even  the  ornaments  attached  to  their  persons,  by  the 
most  rapacious  and  unjust  means,  or  to  wrest  fiom  them  every 
thing  of  value  ;  others,  to  whom  Guacanagari  had  already 
allowed  two  or  three  female  companions,  yielded  to  such  gross 
sensuality  as  to  seduce  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the  natives. 
They  quarrelled  over  the  dishonest  booty  they  had  wrested  from 
the  Indians,  as  well  as  in  their  struggles  for  the  companionship 
of  the  Indian  women.  Avarice  and  lust  were  the  characteristic 
vices  exhibited  by  the  men,  whom  the  Indians  received  with 
veneration  as  guests  from  heaven.  The  authority  of  Don  Diego 
de  Arana  was  set  at  defiance.  The  two  lieutenants  whom 
Columbus  had  named  to  Arana  to  succeed  him  in  the  command, 
in  case  of  his  death,  showed  their  unfitness  by  their  insubordina 
tion  to  their  own  commander,  and  went  so  far  as  to  assert  in 


*  "  Hist.  Ind.,"  lib.  ii.,  cap.  12  ;  Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "Columbus,"  p.  270  ;  Irv- 
ing's  "  Life  of  Christopher  Columbus,"  vol.  i. ,  p.  326. 


246  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

themselves  an  authority  equal  or  superior  to  his.  Finally,  having 
killed  a  man  named  Jacomo  in  their  broils  and  struggles  for 
command,  and  not  having  succeeded  in  supplanting  Arana,  they 
revolted  with  nine  others,  and  marching  forth  with  these  and 
with  a  number  of  their  women,  they  wended  their  way  to  the 
famed  regions  of  the  notorious  Caonabo,  where  rumor  had  located 
unbounded  treasures  of  gold.  But  Caonabo,  a  prince  of  Carib 
bean  origin  and  birth,  himself  an  intruder  and  conqueror  in  this 
once  peaceful  island,  had  no  sooner  secured  these  formidable 
visitors  within  his  power,  than  he  slaughtered  them  all  with  sav 
age  ferocity.  Other  revolting  parties  deserted  the  fortress  and 
went  in  small  bands  to  different  parts  of  the  island  in  search  of 
gold.  And  again  there  were  other  parties  of  three  or  four  who 
deserted  the  garrison  and  marched  and  marauded  through  the 
country,  forcing  themselves  upon  the  Indians,  consuming  their 
provisions,  carrying  off  their  wives  and  daughters,  and  cruelly 
treating  the  men  with  wantonness  and  dishonor.  The  protection 
of  the  good  Guacanagari  scarcely  sufficed  to  protect  the  Span 
iards  from  native  vengeance  in  their  crimes  and  vices. 

The  brave  and  loyal  Arana  remained,  like  a  true  soldier,  at  his 
fortress,  true  to  his  honor,  to  his  country  and  his  race,  and  loyal 
to  his  relative  Columbus,  the  husband  of  Beatrix  Enriquez  de 
Arana.  But  there  were  only  ten  Spaniards  with  him,  consti 
tuting  the  garrison.  The  others  were  quartered  in  houses  out 
side  the  fort.  Confiding  in  the  protection  of  Guacanagari  and 
the  friendship  of  his  subjects,  in  whose  dominions  the  fortress 
stood,  the  Spaniards  at  the  fort  relaxed  their  discipline  by  omit 
ting  to  keep  up  a  strict  guard  at  night,  little  supposing  that  a 
more  distant  enemy  would  take  advantage  of  their  confidence. 
The  wily  and  fierce  Caonabo  had  no  sooner  massacred  the  Span 
iards  who  had  entered  his  own  dominions,  than  he  conceived  a 
plan  for  slaughtering  the  remainder  of  the  Spaniards  in  the  fort. 
He  ascertained  that  no  guard  was  kept  at  the  post.  It  was  at 
the  dead  of  night  that  this  savage  chieftain,  at  the  head  of  his 
warriors,  rushed  with  savage  yells  and  imprecations  upon  the 
garrison  and  gained  possession  of  the  fort  before  the  Spaniards 
could  recover  from  sleep  or  defend  themselves.  The  houses 
outside,  in  which  other  Spaniards  were  living,  were  surrounded 
and  set  on  fire.  All  the  Spaniards  were  slaughtered  in  cold 
blood,  except  eight,  who  escaped,  and  rushing  into  the  water, 


ON   COLUMBUS.  247 

-were  drowned.  This  cruel  massacre  was  not  alone  the  work  of 
Caonabo  and  his  tribe  ;  other  caciques  and  their  tribes,  who  had 
suffered  from  the  pillage  and  outrages  of  the  Spaniards,  joined 
to  make  up  a  numerous  army  bent  upon  revenge.  The  faithful 
Guacanagari  and  his  subjects  rushed  to  the  defence  of  their 
friends  and  allies,  but  his  unwarlike  followers  could  not  stand 
up  against  the  fierce  attacks  of  Caonabo' s  warriors  ;  they  were 
badly  defeated  and  dispersed  ;  Guacanagari  was  wounded  by  a 
stone  thrown  by  the  hand  of  Caonabo  ;  his  village  was  burned, 
and  he  was  forced  to  seek  shelter  and  concealment  in  the  woods. 

It  was  thus  that  the  Spaniards  by  their  misconduct  and  vices 
brought  not  only  ruin  upon  themselves,  but  also  disaster  and 
destruction  to  their  innocent  native  allies.  The  prestige  of  civil 
ized  man  was  lost  in  the  eyes  of  the  savage  ;  the  cause  of  Chris 
tianity  was  lowered  by  the  crimes  of  Christians  themselves  below 
the  level  of  paganism  ;  the  civilization  of  the  Caucasian  suffered 
in  comparison  with  primitive  and  heathen  barbarism. 

While  Christopher  Columbus,  that  explorer  and  discoverer  of 
continents,  that  herald  of  civilization,  that  Christian  gentleman, 
had  done  all  that  his  wonderful  foresight  could  do  to  prevent 
the  calamities  he  now  realized,  his  sanguine  nature  drew  new 
energy  from  disaster.  His  thoughts  now  were  bent  on  the  selec 
tion  of  another  and  more  suitable  spot  for  the  European  settle 
ment,  and  a  commission  was  appointed,  under  the  presidency  of 
Melchior  Maldonado,  to  explore  the  country  for  this  purpose. 
While  coasting  to  the  eastward  on  this  duty,  Maldonado  encoun 
tered  a  canoe  containing  two  Indians  on  their  way  to  visit  the 
caravel.  One  of  these  Indians  was  recognized  as  the  brother  of 
Guacanagari,  who,  on  boarding  the  ship,  entreated  the  captain 
to  visit  the  cacique,  who  was  then  confined  at  the  village,  suffer 
ing  from  his  wound.  On  complying  with  this  request  Maldonado 
found  the  cacique  resting  in  his  hammock,  and  attended  by  seven 
women,  in  a  village  of  about  fifty  houses.  Guacanagari  mani 
fested  his  sorrow  at  not  being  able  to  visit  the  admiral,  related 
how  the  Spaniards  had  been  massacred  by  Caonabo  and  other 
hostile  caciques,  how  the  fortress  and  houses  of  the  Spaniards 
had  been  burned,  and  how  he  and  his  subjects  had  suffered  in 
their  efforts  to  succor  the  Christians.  Believing  the  accounts  of 
the  cacique,  the  Spaniards  carried  his  invitation  to  the  admiral 
to  visit  him,  and  they  were  accompanied  on  their  return  by 


248  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

the   brother  of  Guacanagari,  who  was  sent  to  urge  its  accept 
ance. 

The  admiral  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  cacique.  On  the 
following  day  he  landed  in  state,  accompanied  by  his  staff  officers 
and  the  seventeen  captains  of  the  caravels,  all  dressed  in  their 
richest  attire  and  glittering  with  arms  and  armor.  Guacanagari 
received  this  august  and  brilliant  party  with  great  emotion,  and 
in  his  hammock  extended  to  them  every  honor  and  hospitality. 
He  again  related  in  detail  the  recent  disasters,  not  omitting  the 
part  he  and  his  subjects  had  taken  in  defence  of  the  Spaniards, 
pointing  to  the  destruction  of  his  own  residence  and  the  wounds 
received  by  himself  and  many  of  his  followers  as  evidences  of 
their  sincerity.  Columbus  was  moved  by  the  narrative  and  by 
the  tears  of  the  prince,  and  gave  full  faith  to  his  words.  He 
requested  Dr.  Chanca  and  the  skilful  surgeon  of  the  expedition 
to  examine  and  treat  the  cacique's  wound  ;  the  latter  readily 
submitted  his  leg  to  examination,  and  while  the  doctors  could 
discover  no  contusion  or  bruise,  even  on  a  second  examination 
in  the  open  light,  the  cacique  expressed  a  great  sense  of  pain, 
and  shrank  with  suffering  when  the  injured  part  was  handled. 
Columbus  gave  generous  presents  to  the  prince  and  his  attend 
ants,  and  the  latter  was  munificent,  according  to  his  means, 
and  gave  in  return  eight  hundred  beads  of  the  ciba  stone,  which 
were  esteemed  of  great  value,  one  hundred  beads  of  gold,  and 
three  small  calabashes  of  gold  dust.  With  royal  refinement  he 
regarded  his  generosity  as  greatly  outdone  by  the  admiral's 
presents  of  glass  beads,  hawks'  bells,  knives,  pins,  needles,  small 
mirrors,  and  copper  ornaments.  The  cacique  expressed  great 
joy  at  the  admiral's  announcement  of  his  intention  to  settle  in 
his  vicinity,  though  he  informed  the  latter  that  the  spot  was 
unhealthy.  Columbus  addressed  the  prince  in  zealous  appeals 
that  he  would  accept  the  Christian  faith,  and  requested  him  to 
receive  and  wear  around  his  neck  a  medal  of  the  Virgin  Mother 
until  he  should  be  baptized.  The  cacique  was  anxious  to  do 
whatever  the  admiral  requested,  but  he  was  not  prepared  to- 
receive  the  faith  which  had  been  so  dishonored  by  those  wha 
had  professed  it,  and  if  the  medal  was  an  emblem  of  the  religion 
which  did  not  restrain  the  gross  licentiousness  of  the  garrison, 
he  shrank  from  wearing  it.  Even  after  the  kind  words  of  the 
admiral  and  the  friendship  he  bore  him  had  induced  him  to  wear 


ON  COLUMBUS.  249 

the  medal,  the  king  seemed  uneasy  with  this  token  of  the  religion 
professed  by  the  garrison. 

Companions  of  Columbus,  who  had  not  witnessed  the  un 
bounded  kindness  and  princely  bearing  of  Guacanagari  at  the 
first  visit  of  the  Europeans  to  his  shore,  now  distrusted  the  sin 
cerity  of  the  chief  and  the  truthfulness  of  his  statements  about  the 
recent  disasters.  Father  Bo'il,  the  spiritual  superior  or  vicar 
apostolic,  united  with  these,  and  he  was  convinced  of  the 
heathen's  bad  faith  when  he  saw  the  bandage  removed  from  his 
leg  showing  no  exterior  appearance  of  a  wound,  and  more 
especially  when  he  saw  his  reluctance  to  receive  the  blessed  medal. 
He  accordingly  urged  the  admiral  to  arrest  and  deal  with  him 
in  the  most  summary  manner  ;  but  the  milder  nature  of  Colum 
bus  led  him  to  do  justice  to  his  friend,  to  wait  for  undoubted 
proofs  of  his  treachery,  and  even  then  to  act  with  moderation, 
and  with  a  desire  to  maintain  as  long  as  possible  peaceful  rela 
tions  with  the  natives.  Most  of  the  colonists  sustained  the  wiser 
and  humane  view  of  Columbus  toward  the  native  chief,  but  the 
over-zealous  vicar  apostolic  and  some  others  not  only  differed 
from  him,  but  even  entertained  resentment  at  the  just  decision 
of  the  admiral. 

The  friendly  chief  accompanied  the  admiral  to  his  ships  not 
withstanding  his  lameness,  and  on  boarding  the  flag-ship,  although 
he  had  seen  the  caravel  on  the  first  voyage,  he  was  exceedingly 
astonished  at  all  he  saw,  especially  at  the  numerous  and  power 
ful  fleet  and  its  equipment,  at  the  great  ship  of  the  admiral,  at 
the  goods  and  implements  brought  out,  at  the  cattle,  asses, 
sheep,  swine,  and  goats,  and,  more  than  all,  at  the  Andalusian 
horses.  His  amazement  was  unbounded. 

But  the  tender-hearted  chief  was  not  wholly  engrossed  with 
his  celestial  visitors,  but  was  also  deeply  interested  in  some  of 
the  passengers,  especially  in  the  ten  female  native  women,  whom 
the  ships'  crews  had  rescued  from  the  Caribs,  and  whom  he  saw 
on  the  Gracious  Mary.  But  his  sensitive  feelings  in  their  regard 
became  immediately  centred  in  one  of  their  number,  a  young 
and  handsome  female,  who  had  already  been  named  by  the 
Spaniards  Donna  Catalina,  who  was  lofty  and  queenly  in  her 
appearance  and  bearing.  The  susceptible  cacique  was  seen  to 
speak  to  her  with  special  interest  and  with  marked  expressions, 
and,  though  their  dialects  were  different,  a  new-born  sentiment. 


250  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

mutual  and  effective,  made  them  perfectly  comprehend  each 
other.  It  was  thus  that  Guacanagari  and  Donna  Catalina,  in 
the  presence  of  all  and  without  being  suspected  by  any,  entered 
into  an  engagement  with  each  other,  and  they  would  certainly 
meet  again.  The  admiral  entertained  the  king  at  collation,  and 
mutual  interchanges  of  friendship  were  made.  The  intelligent 
native,  while  realizing  the  ever-true  and  unchanging  cordiality 
of  Columbus,  with  native  keenness  and  observation  could  not 
but  observe  that  Father  Boi'l  and  others  exhibited  by  their  cold 
reserve  a  certain  lack  of  confidence  in  him.  It  was  this  fact,  no 
doubt,  that  caused  him  to  request  to  be  sent  ashore  before  sun 
set.  On  the  following  day  large  numbers  of  natives  were  seen 
along  the  shore.  A  messenger  came  from  the  cacique  to  inquire 
when  the  fleet  would  sail,  and  was  informed  that  it  would  the 
following  day.  The  brother  of  the  cacique  visited  the  Gracious 
Mary,  and  while  on  board,  under  the  pretext  of  bartering  some 
gold,  he  was  seen  to  avoid  most  studiously  the  presence  of  the 
interpreter,  Diego  Colon  ;  but  in  his  absence  he  spoke  to  the 
Indian  women,  and  especially  to  Donna  Catalina,  and  to  the 
latter  he  delivered  a  message  from  his  brother,  the  amorous 
cacique.  The  plot  soon  matured.  At  midnight  a  beacon  light 
on  shore  gave  love's  signal  to  the  captives.  Catalina  conveyed 
the  intelligence  to  her  companions,  and  the  ten  Indian  women, 
following  her  example  and  leadership,  noiselessly  let  themselves 
down  into  the  sea  by  the  side  of  the  vessel,  and  all  swam  bravely 
for  the  shore,  a  distance  of  three  miles.  But  their  escape,  not 
withstanding  it  was  managed  so  quietly,  was  detected  by  the 
watch,  the  alarm  was  given,  the  boats  were  let  down,  and  imme 
diate  chase  was  given.  The  fugitives  had  already  gained  some 
distance  ;  they  all  reached  the  shore  before  the  boats,  and  though 
four  were  recaptured,  the  comely  and  high-spirited  Catalina  and 
four  of  her  companions  succeeded  in  effecting  their  escape.  At 
the  dawn  of  day  Columbus  sent  to  demand  the  return  of  the 
fugitives  from  Guacanagari,  but  when  reached  the  late  royal  resi 
dence  was  silent  and  deserted  ;  the  cacique  and  all  his  subjects 
had  departed  to  unknown  parts,  carrying  with  them  all  their 
effects  and  properties,  together  with  the  stately  female  beauty 
and  her  four  companions  in  flight.  This  singular  occurrence 
seemed  to  confirm  the  suspicions  of  Father  Boil  and  the  others 
as  to  the  disloyalty  of  Guacanagari,  and  it  was  the  prevailing 


ON  COLUMBUS.  251 

opinion  of  the  Spaniards  now  that  it  was  he  who  had  destroyed 
the  fort  and  massacred  the  garrison,  and  that  he  was  at  heart 
and  in  secret  deed  a  traitor  and  deceiver.  The  admiral,  how 
ever,  who  felt  the  burden  of  responsibility  for  the  expeditions 
and  for  the  future  relations  of  the  two  races,  and  who  saw  more 
deeply  into  the  importance  of  every  event  in  these  early  stages 
of  intercourse  between  the  two  hemispheres,  and  who  was  full 
of  human  kindness,  refused  to  credit  the  charge  or  to  consent  to 
a  rupture  of  the  friendly  relations  existing  between  his  country 
men  and  their  nearest  neighbors.  Upon  every  principle  of 
natural  justice  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  conduct  of  this  chief 
and  his  people,  though  somewhat  irregular  on  this  last  occasion, 
contrasted  favorably,  even  up  to  this  time,  with  that  of  the 
Spaniards,  with  the  exception  of  Columbus  himself  and  a  few 
others  who  participated  in  his  more  moderate  counsels.  The 
true  principles  of  statesmanship  and  administration  would  cer 
tainly  prefer  a  postponement  of  any  rupture  with  the  natives  as 
long  as  possible. 

The  topographical  commission  sent  out  under  Melchior  Mal- 
donado  had  not  only  proceeded  to  the  eastward  farther  than  any 
Spaniards  had  done,  but  they  also  obtained  from  the  Indians  of 
other  tribes,  which  they  had  encountered,  accounts  confirmatory 
of  the  statements  of  Guacanagari  and  his  subjects,  and  excul 
pating  that  prince  from  the  charge  of  having  destroyed  the  for 
tress  and  garrison.  All  accounts  pointed  out  Caonabo  as  the 
author  of  the  disaster.  Convinced  that  a  change  of  the  site  for 
the  proposed  settlement,  on  the  score  of  health  and  for  many 
other  reasons,  was  necessary,  the  admiral  caused  all  the  ships  to 
sail  on  December  /th,  with  the  intention  of  seeking  out  the  port 
of  La  Plata  ;  but  after  they  had  proceeded  about  ten  leagues 
east  of  Monte  Christi  they  entered  a  spacious  harbor,  commanded 
by  a  point  of  land  bounded  on  one  side  by  rocks  and  protected 
on  the  other  side  by  an  impenetrable  forest,  and  adjudged  by 
Dr.  Chanca  and  by  the  general  opinion  as  the  best  place  for  the 
settlement.  It  was  thought  that  Providence  had  sent  them  the 
recent  bad  weather,  which  induced  them  to  enter  this  favored 
harbor  at  first  for  safety,  and  now  as  their  permanent  home.  To 
an  excellent  harbor  and  a  choice  spot  for  a  fort  was  added  the 
important  circumstance  that  the  climate  was  delightful  and  the 
soil  inexhaustibly  fertile.  The  admiral  had  scarcely  given  the' 


252  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

word  of  command  when  man  and  beast  rejoiced  in  being  released 
from  the  confinement  of  the  ships,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
delights  of  the  woods,  the  verdure  of  the  fields,  the  refreshing 
water  of  the  springs,  and  they  felt  an  inexpressible  pleasure  in 
the  perennial  springtime,  the  songs  of  birds,  the  fragrance  of 
flowers,  the  freshness  of  the  grass,  and  the  delights  of  fruits  and 
fountains. 

The  scene  presented  now  was  most  active,  picturesque,  and 
inspiring.  The  crews,  artificers,  and  laborers  were  landed,  and 
these  laboriously  assisted  in  landing  the  provisions,  guns,  am 
munition,  implements,  cattle,  and  live  stock  of  every  kind.  The 
animals  themselves,  so  long  confined  in  the  vessels,  seemed  to- 
take  delight  in  the  refreshing  change  from  the  prison  life  of  the 
ships  to  that  enchanting  and  open  region.  Buildings  were 
immediately  erected  to  receive  the  property  of  the  Spaniards,, 
and  an  encampment  was  established  on  the  side  of  a  plain  and 
near  a  beautiful  sheet  of  fresh  water.  Such  was  the  foundation 
of  the  city  of  Isabella,  the  first  permanent  settlement  of  Euro 
peans  in  the  new  world. 

The  three  public  buildings — the  church,  the  storehouse,  and 
the  admiral's  residence — were  constructed  of  stone,  while  all  the 
other  houses  were  built  of  wood.  As  every  man  aspired  to  the 
possession  of  a  house  for  himself,  the  greatest  activity  and  enthu 
siasm  were  manifested  by  all  in  hastening  the  erection  of  the 
three  stone  houses,  and  each  then  was  soon  building  for  himself 
a  private  residence.  Primitive  in  style  and  construction,  how 
ever,  were  these  structures.  Such  energy  was  exerted  as  to 
secure  the  completion  of  the  church  and  the  celebration  of  solemn 
high  mass  therein  by  January  6th,  which  was  the  anniversary  of 
the  entrance  of  the  Spanish  sovereigns  into  Granada.  This  im 
posing  and  significant  ceremony  was  performed  with  all  possible 
pomp  and  grandeur,  under  the  circumstances,  by  Father  Boil,, 
the  vicar  apostolic,  assisted  by  Father  Antonio  de  Marchena  and 
the  twelve  religious  monks  who  had  come  out  with  the  expedi 
tion.  The  new  city  of  Isabella  was  regularly  planned  and  laid 
out  in  projected  squares  and  streets,  after  the  usual  style  of  Span 
ish  towns.  There  were  near  the  place  a  large  river  and  a  smaller 
one,  which  presented  several  sites  favorable  for  mills,  and  on  the 
banks  of  one  of  the  rivers  was  an  Indian  village.  So  rich  was. 
the  soil  and  so  genial  the  climate  that  in  January  the  admiral 


ON   COLUMBUS. 

was  presented  with  ripe  ears  of  corn  from  seeds  sown  in  the 
December  previous.  This  certainly  seemed  like  an  earthly  para 
dise.  To  add  inestimably  to  its  advantages,  it  was  related  by  the 
Indians  of  the  neighboring  village  that  at  no  great  distance  in 
the  interior  lay  the  famous  gold-bearing  mountains  of  Cibao,  and 
the  harbor  of  Isabella,  as  the  admiral  thought,  would  become 
the  outlet  for  those  boundless  treasures. 

But,  alas  !  a  reaction  was  at  hand.  The  long  confinement  on 
shipboard,  the  rations  of  salted  meat  and  fish  and  mouldy  biscuit, 
had  impaired  the  health  of  many  unaccustomed  to  the  sea,  and 
now  the  fatigues  of  building  up  the  new  city  and  the  effects  of 
the  new  climate,  subject  to  rapid  successions  of  hot  and  humid 
weather,  completed  their  prostration,  and  many  fell  ill  of  ravag 
ing  fevers.  Disappointments  soon  followed,  for  the  expectations 
of  vast  and  sudden  wealth  had  been  the  chief  inducement  with 
many  to  join  in  the  expedition  ;  and  now  it  was  discovered  that 
the  golden  regions  of  Cipango  and  Cathay  were  not  at  their  feet, 
and  treasures  were  not  acquired  without  labor  or  care.  Instead 
of  a  region  of  Oriental  luxury  they  found  themselves  within  a 
limited  area  of  wilderness,  surrounded  by  impassable  forests  ; 
and  instead  of  a  brilliant  career  of  noble  adventure  and  capti 
vating  exploits  amid  powerful  and  wealthy  heathen  nations,  they 
had  to  struggle  with  the  primeval  wilderness,  overcome  unparal 
leled  obstacles,  and  labor,  in  an  enervating  climate,  for  a  bare 
subsistence.  Sickness  and  disease,  aggravated  by  mental  care 
and  disappointment,  now  settled  like  a  pall  over  the  infant 
colony. 

Columbus  suffered  in  common  with  his  followers  from  the  pre 
vailing  fever  ;  but  his  sufferings  of  body  and  mind  were  greatly 
intensified  and  increased  by  the  personal  and  individual  sur 
roundings,  responsibilities,  and  duties  of  the  man.  At  the  time 
of  embarkation  at  Cadiz,  his  health  was  so  bad  that  he  could  not 
attend  in  person  to  the  selection  or  inspection  of  the  provisions, 
animals,  and  munitions  of  war  procured  and  shipped  for  the 
colony  by  the  comptroller-general  and  the  administration  of  the 
marine.  On  landing  everything  at  Isabella  it  was  found  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  provisions  were  damaged  or  of  inferior  qual 
ity,  the  wine  had  leaked  from  badly  bound  casks,  the  medicines 
fell  short  of  the  quantity  ordered  by  the  chief  physician,  the 
magnificent  Andalusian  chargers,  which  the  admiral  had  re- 


254  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

viewed  at  Seville,  had  been  replaced  by  inferior  animals,  and  in 
every  department  of  preparation  the  colony  had  suffered  by  the 
fraud,  corruption,  and  peculation  of  placemen  and  office-holders 
at  home.  The  history  of  the  world  is  not  wanting  in  such 
features.  The  nineteenth  century  is  not  the  first  to  indulge  in 
such  official  misconduct.  The  politicians  and  office-holders  of 
our  times  have  had  their  instruction  in  the  history  of  every 
nation  and  of  every  century  since  cities  and  States  and  govern 
ments  were  founded  by  mankind  ;  but  where  are  the  lessons 
which  history  should  teach  ? 

Added  to  these  causes  of  the  admiral's  illness  should  be  men 
tioned  the  difficulties  and  engrossing  cares  of  his  great  undertak 
ing,  his  great  responsibilities,  which  were  not  limited  to  his  crews, 
or  to  the  natives,  or  to  his  country  and  his  sovereigns,  but  extended 
to  the  interest  which  all  mankind  had  in  the  great  results  of  his 
splendid  enterprise.  The  labors  growing  out  of  his  extensive 
command,  his  loss  of  rest,  his  watchings,  his  sorrows  at  the  fate 
of  his  garrison,  his  uncertainties  as  to  the  relations  he  might 
maintain  with  the  aborigines,  the  mixed  and  unreliable  character 
of  the  materials  composing  his  followers,  his  recent  cares  and 
labors  in  founding  and  building  the  new  city  of  Isabella,  the  cir 
cumspection,  study,  and  forethought  required  in  establishing  and 
conducting  his  future  government  under  such  unprecedented 
circumstances — all  contributed  to  bring  upon  him  mental  and 
physical  exhaustion.  His  illness  confined  him  to  his  bed  for 
some  weeks  ;  but  from  his  sick  couch,  with  characteristic  clear 
ness  of  mind  and  energy  of  character,  he  governed  and  managed 
his  new  colony  and  fleet,  and  he  directed  all  things  with  vigor, 
promptness,  and  success.  The  frauds  of  the  bureau  at  Seville 
made  his  task  more  appalling,  and  the  colony  suffered  from  the 
beginning  by  its  misdeeds.  Yet,  such  was  the  energy  of  this 
man,  and  such  the  zeal  with  which  he  inspired  others,  that  by 
the  end  of  January  a  large  number  of  houses  had  been  erected 
and  completed,  and  the  new  city  was  encircled  by  a  stone  wall.* 

The  city  having  been  built  and  the  goods  and  effects  brought 
out,  landed,  and  stored,  the  admiral  knew  that  some  report  was 
expected  from  him  and  the  garrison  by  his  sovereigns.  The 


*  Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,'*  pp.  278,  280  ;  "  Hist,  del  Almirante,"  cap.  50  ^ 
Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  341  ;  Peter  Martyr,  decad.   i.,  lib.  ii.,  etc. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  255 

gold  and  valuables  which  it  was  expected  the  garrison  would 
have  collected  he  could  not  send,  but  in  their  stead  must  be 
despatched  the  appalling  accounts  of  disaster,  ruin,  and  death. 
Before  sending  the  fleet  on  the  homeward  voyage  with  the  sad 
tidings  of  the  ruin  of  La  Navidad  and  the  destruction  of  the 
colony,  with  his  usual  fruitfulness  of  expedient  he  sent  an  ex 
pedition  under  Alonzo  de  Ojeda  into  the  interior  of  the  island, 
to  visit  and  explore  the  country  of  Caonabo,  whose  name,  sig 
nifying  "  the  lord  of  the  golden  house,"  gave  promise  of  rich 
returns  of  the  precious  metal,  and  hopes  for  a  valuable  return 
cargo  to  the  Spanish  sovereigns  for  their  great  outlay.  The 
very  tidings  of  the  discovery  of  a  country  so  rich  in  precious 
metals  would  of  itself  make  some  compensation  for  the  disasters 
and  disappointments  of  the  past.  Ojeda  rejoiced  at  this  oppor 
tunity  for  exercising  his  prowess  and  displaying  his  courage. 
Accompanied  by  a  small  but  selected  and  gallant  command,  in 
cluding  several  high-spirited  cavaliers  scarcely  inferior  in  daring 
and  love  of  adventure  to  himself,  he  marched  out  of  the  city  of 
Isabella  in  the  early  part  of  January,  1494,  and  proceeded  south 
ward  toward  the  rich  and  storied  Cibao..  By  several  days  of 
arduous  marching,  climbing  lofty  and  rocky  mountains,  fording 
rivers,  and  keeping  up  an  untiring  struggle  with  natural  ob 
stacles,  they  penetrated  a  region  of  indescribable  beauty,  gran 
deur,  and  richness,  where  they  were  received  with  unbounded 
hospitality  by  the  natives,  who  were  peaceful  and  friendly. 
Caonabo,  the  fierce  and  warlike  king  of  the  country,  was  absent 
in  some  other  part  of  his  dominions,  and  no  one  appeared  to  dis 
pute  the  Spanish  progress.  Though  the  natives  were  naked, 
lived  in  simplicity  and  frugality,  had  no  large  or  wealthy  cities, 
still  the  Spaniards  saw  with  delight  evidences  of  the  precious 
metal  in  the  sands  of  gold  in  the  mountain  streams,  large  pieces 
of  gold  ore  in  the  beds  of  the  torrents,  and  stones  richly  streaked 
with  gold.  The  natives  gave  these  treasures  freely  to  the  Span 
iards.  Ojeda  himself  is  said  to  have  found  in  one  of  the  brooks 
a  single  piece  of  gold  weighing  nine  ounces,  which  was  seen  by 
Peter  Martyr  before  it  was  sent  to  Spain.  The  expedition  re 
turned  to  Isabella  with  the  most  enthusiastic  accounts  of  the 
country,  and  especially  of  the  mineral  treasures  of  Cibao. 
Columbus  was  convinced  that  a  development  of  the  mines  of  this 
favored  region  would  bring  ample  returns  of  the  precious  metals 


OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

to  satisfy  the  expectations  of  his  countrymen  and  of  his  sover 
eigns.  He  wrote  a  full  account  of  the  discovery  of  this  rich 
country  in  the  interior  to  Spain,  and  sent  back  the  fleet  of  twelve 
vessels  under  the  command  of  Antonio  de  Torres,  who  sailed  in 
the  admiral's  ship,  the  Gracious  Mary,  on  February  2d,  together 
with  rich  specimens  of  the  gold  brought  from  Cibao,  fruits  and 
plants  of  the  country,  and  the  men,  women,  and  children  he  had 
captured  from  the  Caribbean  Islands.  He  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
sovereigns,  in  which  he  described  in  enthusiastic  terms  the  rich 
mineral  regions  of  Cibao,  gave  the  particulars  of  the  expedition 
of  Ojeda,  whom  he  highly  commended,  and  whose  companion, 
Gorvalan,  returned  to  Spain  in  the  fleet,  and  he  commended  to 
the  favor  of  the  sovereigns  a  number  of  his  followers,  among 
whom  were  Pedro  Margarite  and  Juan  Aguado,  who  were  also 
to  return  in  the  fleet,  from  both  of  whom  he  ever  afterward  re 
ceived  the  basest  and  most  disheartening  ingratitude.  He  also 
requested  fresh  supplies  from  Spain,  as  the  crops  would  not 
mature  in  time  to  afford  sustenance  to  the  colony,  and  as  the 
provisions  brought  out  from  Spain  were  inferior  or  spoiled,  and 
the  wine  had  leaked  from  the  casks  on  board  the  ships.  The 
colonists  were  suffering  for  proper  diet.  He  also  requested  a 
supply  of  other  articles  of  pressing  necessity,  particularly  such 
as  clothing,  medicines,  and  arms.  Great  stress  was  laid  on  the 
importance  of  sending  horses,  both  for  the  military  service  and 
the  government  works,  and  mention  was  made  of  the  wonderful 
effect  of  these  animals  in  overawing  the  natives.  More  workmen 
and  mechanics  were  requested  to  be  sent  out,  as  well  as  miners 
and  others  skilled  in  handling  the  ore  of  the  precious  metals. 

In  sending  the  men,  women,  and  children  that  had  been  taken 
from  the  Caribbean  Islands,  Columbus  was  certainly  actuated 
by  high  and  honorable  motives,  and  he  was  in  this  and  every 
other  act  of  his  affecting  the  welfare  or  destiny  of  the  natives 
led  by  a  most  zealous  desire  for  their  salvation.  They  were 
familiar  with  or  at  least  could  use  to  some  extent  the  various 
languages  spoken  by  the  different  tribes  of  the  West  India 
Islands,  so  that  he  thought  it  was  a  great  blessing  to  these 
benighted  savages  to  send  them  to  Spain  in  great  numbers. 
Such  as  returned  to  their  native  archipelago  converts  to  Chris 
tianity  could  be  useful  in  assisting  the  missionaries  in  their  apos 
tolic  labors  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  ;  such  as  remained 


ON   COLUMBUS.  257 

in  Spain  would  certainly  gain  the  faith  and  save  their  souls,  even 
though  this  was  accomplished  as  an  exchange  for  their  liberty. 
It  is  true  that  this  noted  memorial  or  letter  contained  recommenda 
tions  which,  while  in  keeping  with  the  education  and  sentiments 
of  that  age,  were  such  as  the  Christian  and  enlightened  sentiment 
•of  the  nineteenth  century  can  but  condemn,  and  which  were  in 
the  end  disastrous  in  their  application  to  the  American  continents 
-and  in  their  effects  upon  the  Indians  for  centuries  to  come.  De 
sirous  at  once  of  promoting  the  speedy  conversion  of  these  fierce 
Caribs  to  Christianity,  and  to  make  the  great  enterprise  in  which 
he  was  embarked  remunerative  to  his  sovereigns,  he  proposed 
to  establish  an  exchange  of  Carib  captives  for  the  live  stock  that 
-\vas  needed  for  the  colony.  Spanish  merchants  were  to  furnish 
the  live  stock  and  deliver  the  same  at  the  island  of  Isabella,  and 
there  the  Caribs  would  be  delivered  on  board  the  ships,  be  car 
ried  to  Spain  and  sold  into  slavery  ;  the  royal  treasury  would 
receive  a  considerable  tax  on  every  slave  thus  imported  into  the 
kingdom,  by  which  the  outlays  of  the  government  for  the  newly 
discovered  countries  would  be  returned  tenfold,  and  the  colonies 
would  be  supplied  with  valuable  and  necessary  live  stock  with 
out  cost.  While  it  would  be  unjust  to  judge  the  motives  and 
•conduct  of  public  men  and  sovereigns  in  the  fifteenth  century 
by  the  more  enlightened  and  humane  sentiments  prevailing  in 
our  times,  there  was  one  circumstance  or  fact  forming  a  part  of 
the  history  of  this  transaction  which  goes  far  to  palliate  them. 
The  Caribbean  Islanders  were  themselves  the  open  and  avowed 
enemies  of  human  liberty,  and  the  promoters  of  the  most  cruel 
forms  of  human  slavery  ;  they  used  their  superior  military  skill, 
numbers,  and  power  for  the  enslavement  of  their  peaceful  and 
innocent  neighbors.  Not  only  did  they  descend,  without  warn 
ing  or  notice,  upon  the  simple,  gentle,  and  unwarlike  communities 
within  their  reach,  and  seize  men,  women,  and  children  and 
carry  them  off  to  the  fiercest  forms  of  slavery,  but  they  practised 
the  utmost  disregard  to  human  life  ;  for  not  only  were  their  vic 
tims  killed  to  make  repasts  for  the  savage  appetites  of  their  can 
nibal  masters,  but  thousands  of  lives  were  wantonly  and  cruelly 
sacrificed.  Such  a  race  could  not  complain  if  another,  stronger 
and  more  powerful,  arrested  their  diabolical  practices  by  captur 
ing  them  and  consigning  them  to  a  less  cruel  form  of  slavery  than 
they  inflicted  upon  others  ;  and  that,  too,  among  a  people  and  to 


258  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

masters  who  respected  and  protected  human  life  ;  and,  above 
all,  in  a  country  where  the  inestimable  gain  of  the  Christian  faith 
would  be  theirs  to  accept.  At  the  same  time,  while  these  facts 
have  an  important  and  ameliorating  influence,  the  human  race, 
in  the  interests  of  justice,  humanity,  and  liberty,  has  the  right 
to  object  to  the  transfer  of  any  of  its  members  from  a  state  of 
liberty  to  one  of  slavery.  Historians  have  united  in  doing  jus 
tice  to  the  motives  of  Columbus,  who  is  recognized  as  "  obeying 
the  dictates  of  his  conscience;"*  but  the  Spanish  sovereigns 
have  gained  imperishable  honor  and  glory  in  rejecting  the  well- 
meant  but  mistaken  recommendations  of  the  admiral,  and  in 
decreeing  that  the  Caribs  were  entitled  to  liberty,  and  that  their 
conversion  to  Christianity  should  be  conducted  in  the  same 
manner  as  that  of  the  other  Indians.  Isabella  is  especially  cred 
ited  with  the  authorship  of  this  benign  and  generous  decree. 
This  subject  will  be  referred  to  again. 

Retaining  five  ships  for  the  use  of  the  colony  and  for  the 
prosecution  of  further  discoveries,  the  admiral  saw,  with  blended 
feelings  of  pride  and  shame,  of  hope  and  disappointment,  the 
return  fleet  sail  from  the  port  of  Isabella  on  February  2d,  1494, 
and  with  it  went  the  prayers  and  best  wishes  of  the  man  who 
had  brought,  by  his  genius,  the  two  hemispheres  together,  face 
to  face,  and  now  by  his  wise  and  generous  efforts  was  laying 
the  foundations  of  new  empires  and  of  future  nations.  While 
the  failure  and  disaster  of  the  first  colony  left  in  the  new  world 
was  discouraging  to  the  Spanish  king  and  queen  and  to  all 
Europe,  the  buoyant  and  sanguine  letter  of  Columbus  had  great 
weight  in  sustaining  the  advancing  cause  of  humanity  and  civili 
zation,  while  the  specimens  of  gold  which  he  sent  gave  promise 
of  future  wealth  and  of  rich  tribute  from  the  new  to  the  old 
world.  Letters  from  Father  Boil,  Dr.  Chanca,  and  other  promi 
nent  companions  of  Columbus  confirmed  the  favorable  accounts 
of  the  country  and  its  products  given  by  the  admiral,  and  Gor- 
valan  related,  in  person,  what  he  had  seen  of  the  beautiful  islands, 
the  rich  soil,  the  genial  climate,  the  gentle  natives,  and  the 
rich  deposits  of  gold  which  gave  value  and  glory  to  the  peaceful 
conquests  of  the  sovereigns  and  of  their  zealous  viceroy.  The 
sordid  sentiments  of  selfish  and  pusillanimous  minds  were  silenced 


*  Irving's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  347. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  259 

by  the  better  and  higher  judgment  of  the  great  and  good  and 
learned  men  of  Europe.  Scholars  and  philanthropists  united  in 
extolling  the  grandeur  of  the  great  achievement  of  Columbus, 
and  in  sustaining  his  able  and  exalted  movements  for  extending 
the  realms  of  trade,  civilization,  and  Christianity. 

The  building  of  the  new  city  of  Isabella,  in  the  mean  time,  had 
progressed  ;  the  first  Christian  church  in  the  new  world  was  so 
far  completed  as  to  allow  the  celebration  of  high  mass  within  its 
sacred  walls  on  the  feast  of  the  Epiphany,  January  6th,  1494. 
This  august  ceremony  was  performed  with  imposing  pomp  and 
inspiring  grandeur  by  Father  Boil,  assisted  by  Friar  Antonio  de 
Marchena  and  the  twelve  ecclesiastics  who  had  accompanied  the 
former.  Columbus  did  all  in  his  power  to  hasten  the  completion 
of  the  city,  and  the  Indians,  whose  fears  were  allayed  by  the 
benignity  of  the  admiral,  gave  their  labor  with  cheerfulness,  and 
deemed  themselves  more  than  repaid  by  the  European  trifles 
they  received  in  return.  He  gave  his  personal  attention  to  every 
work  with  untiring  energy  and  activity  ;  but  now  the  sad  reac 
tion  continued  its  dread  work.  The  miserable  provisions  which 
had  been  shipped  from  Cadiz,  and  others  which  had  spoiled  on 
the  voyage,  as  already  mentioned,  had  begun  to  spread  disease 
in  the  colony.  The  men  had  become  fatigued  with  the  unaccus 
tomed  labor  of  building  a  city,  or  with  disappointment  at  not 
realizing  immediate  fortunes  from  exhaustless  mines  of  gold,  or 
chagrined  at  seeing  the  homeward  fleet  return  without  them  ; 
others  were  affrighted  at  every  calamity  or  horror  ;  the  wilder 
ness  looked  silent,  gloomy,  and  endless.  The  result  of  all  these 
gloomy  experiences  was  a  widespread  feeling  of  discontent.  The 
admiral,  exhausted  in  mind  and  body  by  his  labors,  cares,  anx 
ieties,  the  apprehension  of  a  general  disaffection  in  the  colony, 
and  suffering  himself  from  bad  food,  was  seized  by  the  prevail 
ing  epidemic.  Yet  from  his  sick-bed  he  administered  all  things 
with  clearness,  vigor,  and  ability.  Having  inquired  from  the 
natives  concerning  the  interior  of  the  island,  and  having  sent  a 
caravel  to  explore  it,  his  sanguine  mind  became  convinced  that 
the  new  city  was  well  located,  and  that  the  wealth  of  Cibao, 
which  he  estimated  as  distant  only  three  days'  journey,  must 
naturally  pour  itself  into  its  lap.  While  he  was  seeking  out  the 
means  of  making  the  colony  successful  and  prosperous,  the  fell 
spirit  of  discontent  increased  and  was  tending  to  mutiny.  Firmin 


260  .  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

Cado,  the  colony's  metallurgist,  one  of  the  discontented  spirits, 
added  much  to  the  prevailing  despondency  by  asserting  that  the 
country  was  destitute  of  gold  ;  that  the  shining  particles  which 
the  admiral  took  for  the  precious  metal  were  merely  grains  of 
mica  or  other  substance  resembling  gold,  and  that  the  trinkets 
of  wrought  gold  worn  by  the  natives  were  the  rare  and  old 
products  of  now  exhausted  sources.  Such  was  the  discontent 
that  a  leader  was  all  that  was  needed  in  order  to  turn  it  into 
open  mutiny  or  rebellion.  One  Bernal  Diaz  de  Pisa,  a  man  of 
some  consequence,  a  former  official  of  the  court,  who  had 
secured  for  himself  the  appointment  of  comptroller  of  the  ex 
pedition,  having  already  had  some  differences  with  Columbus, 
presented  himself  at  the  head  of  the  mutineers  as  leader.  His 
plan  was  to  seize  some  or  all  of  the  vessels  and  return  with  the 
mutineers  to  Spain  ;  but  as  preliminary  to  this,  and  to  justify  it, 
he  became  the  accuser  of  the  admiral,  presumed  to  inquire  into 
his  conduct,  and  to  show,  by  living  witnesses,  that  he  had  de 
ceived  the  sovereigns  by  the  recent  letter  he  had  sent  them, 
giving  false  accounts  of  the  country.  Just  as  this  lawless  gang 
were  about  to  seize  the  buildings  at  night  Columbus  suddenly 
recovered  his  health,  and  having  information  of  the  plot,  he  had 
the  ringleader  arrested,  and  thus  discovered  on  his  person  the 
evidences  of  his  treason  in  his  own  handwriting.  Here  again 
the  wisdom  and  magnanimity  of  the  admiral  were  manifested. 
Instead  of  having  De  Pisa  tried  and  condemned  to  death,  as  he 
might  have  done  on  the  spot,  he  generously  spared  him,  and 
sent  him  back  to  Spain  with  an  account  of  his  treachery  and  mis 
deeds,  thus  referring  the  case  to  the  decision  of  the  sovereigns. 
Several  of  the  co-conspirators  were  mildly  punished  in  different 
degrees,  but  with  marked  leniency.  Many  historians  have  justly 
extolled  the  moderation  of  Columbus  on  this  and  many  similar 
occasions.  Perhaps  the  severest  punishment  permitted  by  the 
law  would  have  served  as  a  warning  for  future  miscreants,  for 
he  had  to  encounter  many  such  in  his  checkered  and  eventful 
career.  But  his  generosity  sustained  his  sympathy  for  his  race  ; 
it  never  allowed  the  most  appalling  disasters,  resulting  from  the 
baseness  and  ingratitude  of  men,  to  sour  the  amiability  and 
gentleness  of  his  nature.  The  admiral  endeavored  to  preserve 
the  infant  colony  free  from  the  recurrence  of  any  similar  treason, 
by  having  the  guns  and  naval  munitions  removed  from  four  of 


ON   COLUMBUS.  261 

the  vessels  and  stored  on  board  the  principal  ship,  and  the  latter 
was  placed  in  the  care  of  true  and  trusty  men.  The  five  ships 
were  now  placed  under  the  command  of  his  brother,  Don  Diego 
Columbus.  The  mildness  of  his  treatment  to  these  malcontents 
had  the  usual  effect  upon  unworthy  souls  ;  it  seemed  only  to 
exasperate  their  hatred  and  intensify  their  malice  against  him, 
who,  in  this  and  in  many  similar  and  more  serious  trials  of  his 
life,  felt  the  disadvantage  of  being  a  foreigner,  holding  authority 
over  native  Spaniards  ;  and  he  was  hated  and  despised  for  his 
alien  birth,  as  if  his  services  to  Spain  did  not  entitle  him  to  the 
highest  and  most  privileged  form  of  citizenship.  While  reviled 
as  unworthy  to  rule  over  Spaniards,  scholars  and  philanthropists 
of  all  countries  claimed  him  as  a  common  benefactor. 

From  his  sick-bed  Columbus,  with  characteristic  energy  of  mind, 
had  planned  the  expedition  to  the  golden  regions  of  Cibao,  the 
dominion  of  the  famous  chief,  the  "  Lord  of  the  Golden  House." 

"  Ours  is  the  land  and  age  of  gold,     . 
And  ours  the  hallow'd  time." 

— GRENVILLE  MELLEN. 

Aroused  from  his  illness  by  the  plotting  of  Bernal  Diaz,  Firmin 
Cado,  and  their  confederates,  the^admiral  had  given  his  accustom 
ed  energy  and  skill  in  organizing  the  march  to  the  country  of  Cao- 
nabo,  had  made  preparations  for  his  immediate  departure,  and 
given  the  command  of  the  ships  and  of  the  city,  as  stated,  to  his 
trusty  brother.  He  now  appointed  for  him  a  council  of  good  and 
experienced  men.  Gold  was  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  this  expedi 
tion,  in  order  to  secure  a  revenue  for  Spain.  It  was,  therefore, 
the  admiral's  intention  to  erect  a  fort  in  the  mountains,  as  the 
centre  of  permanent  mining  operations,  and  as  a  protection  to 
his  men  and  miners  ;  and  he  desired  to  impress  the  interlying 
tribes  of  Indians,  and  especially  the  renowned  Caonabo  and  his 
people,  with  an  abiding  conception  of  the  power,  grandeur,  and 
prowess  of  the  Spaniards,  and  to  deter  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
island  from  future  attempts  at  opposition,  hostility,  or  warfare. 
Thus,  not  only  did  he  choose  his  best  men  and  horses,  but,  in 
fact,  all  the  able-bodied  men  that  could  be  safely  allowed  to  leave 
the  ships  and  settlement  were  selected  ;  and  the  cavalry,  so 
feared  by  the  natives,  constituted  a  prominent  feature  of  the 
march.  As  the  little  army,  consisting  of  about  four  hundred 


262  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

men,  went  forth,  their  array  was  enlivened  with  aright  helmets 
and  corselets  ;  arquebuses,  lances,  swords,  and  cross-bows  gave 
the  impress  of  irresistible  force  to  their  ranks  ;  the  gay  and 
beautiful  banners  added  picturesqueness  to  the  pageant  ;  the 
music  of  drum  and  trumpet  heralded  their  advance  and  prog 
ress  ;  and  the  crowds  of  gaping  and  awe-stricken  Indians  showed 
how  successfully  the  desired  effect  had  been  produced  on  the 
minds  of  the  natives. 

Their  armament  and  equipment  were  complete.  March 
1 2th  was  the  day  of  their  departure  ;  by  nightfall  they  had 
traversed  the  low  country  between  the  sea  and  the  moun 
tains,  and  they  found  at  dusk  a  delightful  field  for  their  en 
campment  in  a  rich  and  beautiful  country.  Wild  and  rugged 
was  the  mountain-pass  through  which  the  high-spirited  cavaliers 
opened  at  once  a  way  for  the  troops,  and,  in  honor  of  these 
young  and  aristocratic  heroes  of  Moorish  campaigns,  who  had 
rendered  similar  service  in  the  mountains  of  Granada,  the  pass 
was  called  "  El  Puerto  de  los  Hidalgos,"  or  the  Gentlemen's 
Pass.  Early  the  following  morning  the  gallant  army  struggled 
up  the  steep  defile,  and  on  reaching  the  gore  at  the  top  of  the 
mountain,  they  looked  toward  the  interior  of  the  island,  and 
beheld  a  landscape  of  surpassing  grandeur  and  beauty.  Imagi 
nation  was  surpassed  by  the  grand  reality  ;  a  country  lay  at 
their  feet  which  was  like  an  enchanted  paradise,  so  grand  were 
the  forests,  so  majestic  the  rivers,  so  dim  and  towering  the 
mountains,  so  luxuriant  the  pastures,  so  fresh  and  fragrant  the 
verdure,  so  picturesque  the  villages  and  hamlets,  so  bountiful 
and  luscious  the  fruits  and  herbs.  Columbus  called  it  the  Royal 
Plain,  or  Vega,  and  raised  his  voice  in  thanksgiving  to  heaven. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  simple  inhabitants  of  this  beautiful 
country  were  struck  with  awe  or  fear  or  admiration  at  the  dis 
play  of  arms,  uniforms,  and  discipline.  While  some  were  terri 
fied  and  ran  to  the  woods,  or  hid  behind  their  fragile  barricades 
of  reeds,  others  came  to  gaze  at  the  wonderful  strangers  and  to 
offer  them  the  fruits  of  the  land.  Surely  these  were  visitors 
from  heaven  !  The  Spaniards,  by  command  of  their  chief,  re 
frained  from  interfering  with  the  natives.  Having  crossed  the 
beautiful  plain,  forded  the  Golden  River,  or  Yagui,  whose 
mouth  he  had  seen  in  his  first  voyage,  and,  through  another  pass 
which  they  opened,  reaching  the  top  of  the  second  chain  of 


ON  COLUMBUS.  263 

mountains,  the  troops  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  stood  and  gazed 
with  admiration  upon  the  country  of  Cibao,  the  dominion  of  the 
famed  Caonabo.  In  approaching  the  native  villages  the  cavalry 
entered  first,  so  as  to  inspire  awe  in  the  simple  Indians,  who 
thought  the  horse  and  the  rider  were  one  being,  "  a  circum 
stance,"  says  Mr.  Irving,  "  which  shows  that  the  alleged  origin 
of  the  ancient  fable  of  the  Centaurs  is  at  least  founded  in 
nature."*  While  the  barricades  of  reeds  behind  which  the 
Indians  hid  were  of  no  avail  in  fact,  Columbus  regarded  them 
as  such,  and  allowed  no  Spaniard  to  pass  behind  them  or  enter 
their  houses.  Kindness  gradually  won  their  confidence.  As 
the  abundance  of  nature  made  all  food  a  common  property, 
the  Indians  accompanying  the  army  freely  with  welcome  entered 
the  houses  of  the  tribes  they  now  passed  through,  and  took  all 
they  needed.  It  was  a  rude  contrast  between  nature  and  civili 
zation,  when  afterward  these  children  of  the  forest  found  them 
selves  repulsed,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  their  tribes, 
when  they  in  like  manner  innocently  attempted  to  enter  the 
abodes  of  the  Spaniards  for  food,  which  they  themselves  had 
mostly  supplied  to  their  visitors  without  stint. 

Not  only  was  every  variety  of  food  which  the  country  pro 
duced  brought  freely  by  the  natives  to  the  Spaniards — they  had 
previously  been  visited  by  Ojeda's  exploring  party — but  they 
also  brought  the  shining  grains  and  particles  of  gold  which  they 
had  picked  up  in  torrent  or  brook.  These,  as  they  knew,  the 
Spaniards  valued  more  than  food.  Columbus  and  his  followers 
saw  in  the  beds  of  rivers  and  streams  the  glittering  gold  dust, 
and  he  readily  convinced  himself  that  the  country  abounded  in 
mines  of  the  precious  metal.  He  also  saw  pieces  of  amber  and 
lapis  lazuli.  He  persuaded  himself  that  copper  also  abounded. 
Were  not  these  riches  enough  to  detain  them  in  the  golden 
land  ?  He  decided  to  continue  his  journey  no  farther  ;  he  was 
already  far  from  the  city  of  Isabella  ;  the  access  was  arduous 
and  difficult.  On  an  eminence  on  the  river  Yanique,  well  suited 
for  defence,  he  erected  Fort  St.  Thomas,  thus  named  after  the 
doubting  apostle,  in  allusion  to  Firmin  Cado  and  his  abettors,  in 
reproof  of  their  denial  of  the  treasures  in  the  country  until  they 


*  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  359  ;  other   references  are  Barry's  De  Lorgues' 
"'  Columbus  ;"  Las  Casas,  "  Hist.  Ind.,"  and  "  Historia  del  Almirante." 


264  OLD  AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

saw  them  with  their  eyes  and  felt  them  with  their  hands.  It 
was  thus  strangely  that  moral  and  religious  sentiments  were 
mingled  with  the  most  lucrative  aspirations  of  men.  The  natives 
from  near  and  distant  tribes  flocked  in  great  numbers  to  visit  the 
Spaniards,  and  entreated  for  the  coveted  trinkets  in  exchange 
for  gold.  They  brought  in  all  the  gold  difst  and  glittering  par 
ticles  they  could  gather.  One  old  man,  from  a  distance,  brought 
in  two  pieces  of  purest  ore  weighing  an  ounce.  He  was  enrap 
tured  at  receiving  a  hawk's  bell  in  exchange  for  these.  When 
Columbus  wondered  at  their  great  size,  he  gave  signs  that  they 
were  trifling  in  comparison  with  the  pieces  of  gold  found  in  his 
own  country,  which  was  distant  only  half  a  day's  journey.  This 
story  was  surpassed  by  that  of  others,  who,  having  brought  in 
pieces  weighing  ten  and  twelve  drams,  informed  the  admiral  that 
in  their  country  it  was  common  to  find  pieces  of  virgin  ore  as  large 
as  a  child's  head.  The  admiral  shrewdly  noticed  that  in  every 
instance  the  fabulous  quantities  of  gold  were  located  in  some 
other  region  than  the  one  he  was  then  visiting.  In  order  to  test 
these  shifting  legends,  Columbus  sent  a  young  and  valiant  cavalier 
of  Madrid,  Juan  de  Luxan,  on  an  expedition,  with  a  picked  party 
of  armed  men,  to  explore  the  country  of  Cibao,  which,  as  he 
judged  from  the  descriptions  of  the  natives,  must  be  equal  in 
size  to  the  Kingdom  of  Portugal  ;  and  thus  he  obtained  valuable 
information.  While  the  general  aspect  of  the  province  of  Cibao- 
resembled  that  of  the  country  he  had  just  traversed,  it  was 
equally  productive,  abounded  in  fruits,  among  which  was  the 
native  grape,  remarkable  for  its  ready  flow  of  juice  and  pleasant 
flavor  ;  and  every  stream  bore  the  golden  particles  in  greater  or 
less  quantities.  There  was  other  information  which  Juan  de 
Luxan  only  communicated  to  the  admiral,  and  this  was  supposed 
to  embody  the  secrets  which  he  obtained  from  the  Indians  indi 
cating  the  locations  of  the  most  favored  gold-bearing  spots  in 
the  mountains.* 

Fort  St.  Thomas,  planned  and  built  under  the  sound  judgment 
of  Columbus,  when  completed  was  garrisoned  with  fifty-six 
chosen  men  and  some  horses,  and  placed  under  the  command  of 
Pedro  Margarite,  a  citizen  and  gentleman  of  Madrid,  whom 


*  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  364,   365  ;  Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus;" 
Peter  Martyr,  decad.  i.,  lib.  iii. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  265 

I 

Columbus,  on  account  of  his  large  family  and  poverty,  had  rec 
ommended  to  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  but  who,  like  many  others 
accepting  his  aid,  proved  most  ungrateful  to  their  best  friend, 
and  disloyal  to  duty  and  country. 

On  his  return  to  Isabella,  Columbus  rested  with  his  followers 
in  the  Indian  villages,  in  order  to  accustom  the  Spaniards  and 
Indians  to  each  other's  society  and  to  each  other's  methods,  and 
to  accustom  the  former  to  the  use  of  the  Indian  foods.  On  the 
banks  of  the  Rio  Verde  he  met  a  party  of  Spaniards  on  their 
way  to  provide  the  fortress  with  food,  and  here  he  remained  a 
few  days  and  permanently  fixed  the  route  of  communication 
between  city  and  fort.  With  characteristic  application  he  closely 
studied  the  manners,  customs,  traditions,  religion,  and  native 
government  of  his  new  subjects,  and  in  this  he  was  much  assisted 
by  the  intelligent  observations  and  reports  of  Juan  de  Luxan, 
and  by  the  experiences  and  studies  of  a  zealous  and  pious  hermit 
named  Roman  Pane,  of  the  Order  of  St.  Jerome,  and  commonly 
called  "  the  poor  hermit,"  who  labored  with  apostolic  zeal  among 
the  natives,  studied  their  language,  or  rather  the  Marcorix  dia 
lect,  which  was  the  one  most  generally  understood  throughout 
the  island,  and  had  done  good  missionary  service  in  the  Royal 
Vega.  From  these  studies  and  sources  the  admiral  learned 
many  things  at  variance  with  his  first  impressions.  The  natives 
were  not  so  pacific  as  he  had  at  first  supposed,  for  it  was  found 
that  the  different  tribes  were  sometimes  at  war  with  each  other, 
and  all  of  them  had  become  somewhat  inured  to  arms  from  the 
necessity  of  defending  themselves  against  the  hostile  attacks  of 
the  Caribs.  Though  naturally  of  simple  and  gentle  natures, 
Caonabo  had  introduced  a  more  military  sentiment  among 
them.  Nor  were  the  natives  destitute  of  religious  traditions, 
as  Columbus  at  first  supposed,  for  he  now  found  that  they 
believed  in  one  Supreme  Being,  whose  kingdom  was  in  the 
skies,  who  had  a  mother,  but  no  father,  and  who  was  immortal, 
omnipotent,  and  invisible.  In  its  minor  details  the  religion 
of  the  natives  bore  some  resemblance  to  that  of  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  fbr  they  seemed  to  have  inferior  or  tutelar  deities 
intermediate  between  man  and  the  supreme  God,  and  who 
were  also  the  divinities  of  the  home,  the  weather,  the  storms, 
the  seas,  forests,  springs,  fountains,  and  elements.  They  had 
their  priests,  the  latter  being  also  their  medicine-men.  They 


266  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

also  worshipped  idols,  which  they  hid  from  the  Spaniards,  in 
order  to  prevent  them  from  destroying  them  in  their  zeal  for  the 
Christian  faith.  The  practice  of  painting  or  tattooing  their 
bodies  prevailed,  and  the  images  of  their  deities  were  thus 
painted  and  exhibited  on  their  persons.  Of  their  religious  cere 
monies,  a  principal  one  alone  has  been  handed  down  to  us, 
which  consisted  of  solemn  processions,  offerings  of  cakes  and 
flowers,  dances  by  the  females,  invocations,  house-blessing,  and 
similar  rites.  Their  idols  represented  beings  that  assisted  the 
crops  and  harvests,  aided  women  in  child-birth,  or  invoked 
abundant  rains  and  sunshine.  Columbus  sent  to  Spain  some  of 
these  idols.  Their  traditions  of  the  origin  of  man  were  crude 
and  absurd,  but  they  had  a  tradition  of  the  great  flood,  had  a 
funeral  service  for  the  dead,  conceived  the  idea  of  soul  as  dis 
tinct  from  body,  believed  in  a  future  place  of  happiness,  and, 
like  most  barbarous  nations,  their  dances  had  a  superstitious  or 
devotional  character.  Hospitality  was  a  natural  virtue  ol  these 
simple  tribes  ;  they  received  from  a  bountiful  soil  all  they  needed 
for  food,  and  they  toiled  not  ;  neither  did  they  spin,  for  the 
mildness  of  the  climate  rendered  clothing  unnecessary,  and  they 
were  innocent  of  shame.  Truly  the  Royal  Vega  seemed  like  an 
earthly  paradise.  Had  the  mild  and  just  spirit  of  Columbus  pre 
vailed,  such  it  might  have  continued  to  the  present  time,  with  all 
the  ennobling  and  purifying  elements  of  the  Christian  religion  and 
civilization  added  ;  but,  alas  !  the  vices  of  Christians  rather  than 
their  virtues  have  dominated  over  the  native  races  of  the  new 
world. 

The  return  of  the  admiral  to  the  city  of  Isabella  did  not  bring 
him  rest  of  mind  or  body.  Scarcely  had  he  reached  his  new 
residence  and  inspected  the  ships,  houses,  fort,  and  colony,  when 
he  received  tidings  from  Pedro  Margarite,  the  commander  of 
Fort  St.  Thomas,  that  the  friendly  deportment  of  the  natives 
had  been  changed  to  preparations  for  war,  as  seen  from  their 
ceasing  to  hold  intercourse  with  the  Spaniards  and  from  their 
leaving  their  homes  and  villages  to  assemble  in  some  place  of 
rendezvous.  The  warlike  Caonabo  was  assembling  an  army  to 
attack  the  fortress  ;  but  the  Spanish  commander  omitted  to  relate 
the  causes  of  these  changes  in  the  feelings  of  the  Indians  toward 
their  visitors.  The  latter,  in  fact,  had,  almost  immediately  after 
the  departure  of  the  admiral,  given  way  to  their  worst  passions, 


ON  COLUMBUS.  267 

the  lust  for  gold  and  for  women  ;  the  Indians  were  robbed  of 
their  property  and  outraged  in  their  homes  and  affections. 
Caonabo  did  not  recognize  the  right  of  even  a  Christian  and 
civilized  race  to  intrude  upon  their  country  and  appropriate  it  to 
themselves  ;  he  deemed  the  title  which  his  people  derived  from 
nature  and  possession  as  a  good  title,  which  they  also  possessed 
the  natural  right  to  defend.  Columbus,  above  all  men,  abhorred 
and  denounced  the  vices  and  crimes  of  Europeans  toward  the 
natives  of  the  Western  Hemisphere  ;  he  regarded  his  advent 
among  them  as  the  mission  of  Christianity,  civilization,  and  jus 
tice  ;  and  while  he  advanced  the  right  of  Christian  nations  to 
discover  and  appropriate  the  countries  of  the  heathens,  he  tem 
pered  this  high  prerogative  with  justice,  truth,  and  equity. 
Knowing  the  weakness  of  the  people  he  had  just  visited,  he  con 
tented  himself  with  sending  to  Fort  St.  Thomas  a  reinforcement 
of  twenty  men,  together  with  provisions  and  ammunitions.  He 
also  improved  the  communication  between  fortress  and  city  by 
sending  out  a  party  of  thirty  men  to  open  and  improve  the  road 
between  them. 

While  he  felt  that  his  late  expedition  into  the  interior  of  the 
island  had  greatly  advanced  his  enterprise  by  the  acquisition  of 
new  knowledge  of  the  country  and  of  its  inhabitants,  and  had 
secured  him  a  fortified  foothold  in  the  mountains,  he  now  also 
observed  with  pleasure  the  wonderful  productiveness  of  the 
climate  and  soil,  and  the  development  of  the  agricultural  inter 
ests  of  the  colony.  Having  distributed  the  plants  and  seeds  he 
brought  from  Europe  among  the  colonists,  he  saw  with  satisfac 
tion  how  they  flourished  in  the  new  world,  and  how  forward  and 
rapid  everything  germinated  and  grew  in  this  favored  land. 
The  sugar-cane  was  an  important  success,  the  native  vine  im 
proved  under  skilful  pruning,  and  the  vines  of  Spain  flourished 
in  the  virgin  soil,  as  did  every  fruit  and  vegetable,  plant  and 
tree  he  had  introduced.  The  country  began  to  assume  the 
aspect  of  culture  ;  orchards,  gardens,  and  farms  in  some  instances 
began  to  rival  or  surpass  those  of  older  countries.  He  saw 
toward  the  end  of  March  ears  of  wheat  which  had  been  sown 
with  seed  toward  the  end  of  January.  Such  was  the  fecundity 
of  the  soil,  such  the  genial  heat  and  moisture  of  the  climate,  that, 
while  the  smaller  garden  vegetables  and  herbs  ripened  in  sixteen 
days,  the  larger  ones,  such  as  melons,  cucumbers,  gourds,  and 


268  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

such  like  adorned  the  tables  of  the  colonists  within  a  month  from 
the  planting  of  the  seeds. 

But  the  beautiful  harmony  of  nature,  the  co-operation  of  soil 
and  climate,  to  produce  the  bountiful  fruits  which  Providence 
thus  provided  for  man,  contrasted  more  disastrously  with  the 
discord,  avarice,  and  bad  passions  of  man  himself.  Time  has 
shown  that,  under  the  superior  knowledge  which  civilized  man 
possesses  of  the  laws  of  health  and  of  acclimatization,  the  Span 
iards  could  have  lived  in  health  and  prosperity  in  the  new  coun 
tries  they  had  so  much  coveted  ;  but  the  vices  of  the  men  them 
selves  developed  the  prevalence  of  a  disease  hitherto  unknown  to 
the  Indians,  and,  if  traceable  to  an  European  origin,  of  probably 
recent  origin,  and  not  generally  understood  ;  which  would  seem 
like  a  divine  judgment  on  the  lust  of  the  Spaniards  were  it  not  for 
the  fact  that  it  became  communicated  to  the  helpless  and  un 
tutored  savages,  the  victims  of  European  passions.  The  heat 
and  humidity  of  the  climate,  the  undrained  marshes,  and  the  un 
cultivated  soil  added  the  evil  of  malaria  ;  and  fevers  prevailed  to- 
an  alarming  degree  among  the  colonists  and  soldiers.  The  sick 
ness  was  aggravated  by  discontent  and  despair  ;  and  proper  food 
was  wanting  for  the  nourishment  of  the  sick  and  suffering.  While 
the  productive  soil  would  yield  two  crops  in  the  year,  the  pres 
ent  season  was  marked  by  scarcity  of  food.  The  meats  were 
spoiled,  the  medicines  were  exhausted  almost,  and  the  wine  was 
scarce.  But  these  sufferings  did  not  allay  the  passions  of  men, 
and  retribution  soon  followed.  The  laboring  men  had  been 
overworked  perhaps,  but  the  hidalgos,  wrapped  in  the  mantle  of 
pride  and  punctilio,  became  the  drones  of  a  society  struggling 
for  existence  and  life.  All  united,  however,  in  denouncing  and 
cursing  the  most  meritorious  and  self-sacrificing  man  in  the 
colony,  its  best  friend,  the  father  of  all,  the  watchful  and  provi 
dent  viceroy  and  admiral  ;  for  had  they  heeded  the  injunctions, 
of  Columbus,  a  different  result  would  have  followed. 

His  own  followers  gave  more  anxiety  and  trouble  to  Colum 
bus,  though  only  a  handful  of  men,  than  the  whole  Indian  popu 
lation  of  the  islands  he  discovered  in  the  new  world  ;  but  for  the 
former,  their  vices  and  their  passions,  he  could  have  probably 
proceeded  on  to  discover,  and  could  have  governed  the  nev\r 
countries,  with  their  aboriginal  populations,  with  comparative 
ease  and  peace.  It  was  the  misconduct  of  the  Europeans  that 


ON  COLUMBUS.  269 

t 

caused  the  Indians,  in  almost  every  instance  except  that  of  the 
Caribs,  to  become  hostile  toward  the  advance  of  European  civili 
zation  in  America  ;  but  now  arms  had  been  drawn  and  blood  had 
been  shed. 

In  the  trying  position  in  which  he  was  now  placed,  Columbus 
found  it  necessary  to  take  prompt  and  decided  measures.  As  a 
means  of  relieving  the  impoverished  and  hungry  city  from  the 
duty  of  feeding  so  many  mouths,  as  well  as  of  keeping  the  now 
disquieted  and  offended  Indians  at  peace,  he  decided  to  distribute 
the  military  forces  at  his  command,  consisting  of  four  hundred 
infantry  and  sixteen  cavalry,  through  the  interior  of  the  island, 
leaving  only  the  workmen  and  the  sick  at  the  city.  The  entire 
population  of  Isabella,  high  and  low,  was  placed  on  short  allow 
ance,  and,  with  his  usual  consistency,  Columbus  was  the  first  to 
practise  his  own  rule  of  abstinencne.  Wheat  was  almost  the 
•only  food  left,  and  this  was  in  the  grain  ;  so  that  for  want  of  mills 
each  one  was  compelled  to  grind  his  own  wheat  with  a  hand- 
mill.  The  viceroy  determined  to  erect  a  public  mill  and  to 
complete  the  canal  that  was  to  pass  through  the  city,  and  as  a 
measure  of  justice  he  compelled  the  laborer  and  the  hidalgo  to 
work  together,  and  enforced  this  rule  under  severe  penalties. 
Compulsory  labor  is  always  an  unwelcome  task,  but  to  high- 
spirited  young  cavaliers,  many  of  whom  had  not  even  come  out 
for  wealth  or  gain,  but  to  seek  adventures  worthy  of  their  names, 
it  was  indescribably  offensive.  But  the  stern  admiral  enforced 
his  orders  unrelentingly.  This  measure  drew  upon  him  the 
hatred  and  denunciations  of  this  class,  and,  on  account  of  sons  or 
relatives  in  Hispaniola,  the  hostility  of  some  of  the  proudest  and 
most  powerful  of  the  old  Spanish  families  at  home.  So  many  of 
these  proud  and  undisciplined  young  men  fell  victims  to  the 
condition  of  things  prevailing  at  Isabella,  that  in  after  years, 
when  Isabella  had  ceased  to  be  a  city  and  was  abandoned  to 
owls,  bats,  and  wild  beasts,  a  popular  superstition  peopled  it 
with  the  living  ghosts  of  the  departed  hidalgos  who  had  been 
buried  there. 

Las  Casas,  Herrera,  Washington  Irving,*  and  other  authors 
relate  the  superstitious  legend  ;  and  the  following  passage  from 


*  Las   Casas,  "  Hist.   Ind.,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  92  ;  MS.  Herrera,  "  Hist.  Ind.,"  decad.  I., 
lib.  ii.,  cap.  12. 


2/0  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

Mr.  Irving  is  as  graphic  and  ghastly  as  the  most  morbid  taste 
could  desire  :  "  Like  all  decayed  and  deserted  places,  it  [the  city 
of  Isabella]  soon  became  an  object  of  awe  and  superstition  to  the 
common  people,  and  no  one  ventured  to  enter  its  gates.  Those 
who  passed  near  it,  or  hunted  the  wild  swine  which  abounded  in 
the  neighborhood,  declared  they  heard  appalling  voices  issue 
from  within  its  walls  by  night  and  day.  The  laborers  became 
fearful,  therefore,  of  cultivating  the  adjacent  fields.  The  story 
went,  says  Las  Casas,  that  two  Spaniards  happened  one  day  to 
wander  among  the  ruined  edifices  of  the  place.  On  entering  one 
of  the  solitary  streets,  they  beheld  two  rows  of  men,  evidently, 
from  their  stately  demeanor,  hidalgos  of  noble  blood  and  cavaliers 
of  the  court.  They  were  richly  attired  in  the  old  Castilian 
mode,  with  rapiers  by  their  side,  and  broad  traveling  hats,  such 
as  were  worn  at  the  time.  The  two  men  were  astonished  to- 
behold  persons  of  their  rank  and  appearance  apparently  inhabit 
ing  that  desolate  place,  unknown  to  the  people  of  the  island. 
They  saluted  them,  and  inquired  whence  they  came  and  when 
they  had  arrived.  The  cavaliers  maintained  a  gloomy  silence, 
but  courteously  returned  the  salutation  by  raising  their  hands  to 
their  sombreros  or  hats,  in  taking  off  which  their  heads  came  off 
also,  and  their  bodies  stood  decapitated.  The  whole  phantom 
assemblage  then  vanished.  So  great  was  the  astonishment  and 
horror  of  the  beholders,  that  they  had  nearly  fallen  dead,  and 
remained  stupefied  for  several  days."  * 

In  spite  of  every  opposition  and  of  the  ill-will  of  the  cavaliers 
and  other  unwilling  workers  in  the  colony,  Columbus  succeeded 
in  pushing  on  the  public  mill,  the  canal,  and  other  public  works 
to  completion,  and  the  result  showed  the  wisdom  and  necessity 
of  his  course.  While  the  Count  de  Lorgues  earnestly  sustains 
his  stern  justice  and  impartiality,  Mr.  Irving  seems  affected  with 
sympathy  for  the  unfortunate  hidalgos  thus  compelled  to  manual 
labor.  In  old  and  established  communities,  where  rank  and 
position  form  a  part  of  the  order  and  economy  of  the  State,  such 
measures  would  be  justly  regarded  as  arbitrary  and  despotic  ia 
the  extreme.  But  in  an  infant  colony,  planted  recently,  thou 
sands  of  miles  away  from  the  civilized  world,  stricken  with  sick 
ness  and  famine,  all  men,  members  of  such  a  society,  are  relegated 


*  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  385. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  2/1 

back  to  their  natural  rights  and  duties  and  to  their  primitive 
equality  ;  and  as  all  needed  food,  and  all  clung  to  life,  the  law  of 
nature  would  require  all  equally  to  labor  and  to  sacrifice.  But 
men  never  recede  from  an  advantage  once  gained,  even  though 
it  be  one  of  mere  honor  or  rank,  if  they  can  help  it  ;  and  the 
stern  discipline  of  the  admiral  gave  an  ineffaceable  insult  and  sense 
of  wrong  to  the  Spanish  cavaliers. 

He  ordered  the  garrison  at  Isabella  to  the  interior  of  the  island, 
thus  relieving  the  sick  and  hungry  residents  of  the  city,  inspiring 
the  natives  with  awe  and  fear  of  the  Spanish  power,  exploring 
the  island,  gaining  knowledge  of  its  strategic  points,  and  of  the 
mines  of  gold  it  contained.  The  men  thus  sent  out,  also  from 
necessity  became  accustomed  to  the  diet  of  the  natives.  The 
troops  were  sent  to  Pedro  Margarite,  who  remained  in  command 
of  the  Fort  St.  Thomas,  and  Alonzo  de  Ojeda,  who  conducted 
the  expedition  from  Isabella  to  Fort  St.  Thomas,  remained  in 
command  of  the  entire  military  force  of  the  island.  Such  is  the 
account  of  Count  de  Lorgues  ;  but  Mr.  Irving  states  that  Ojeda 
superseded  Margarite  as  commander  of  the  fort,  and  the  latter 
was  placed  in  command  of  the  whole  army.  Every  able-bodied 
man  that  could  be  spared  was  placed  in  the  army,  which,  when 
all  were  mustered,  contained  two  hundred  and  fifty  cross-bow 
men,  one  hundred  and  ten  arquebusiers,  sixteen  horsemen,  and 
twenty  officers.  From  the  fact  that  it  was  Margarite  who  made 
the  military  exploration  of  the  island,  it  is  more  probable  that 
it  was  he  who  retained,  by  orders  of  the  admiral,  the  com 
mand  of  the  army,  while  Ojeda  became  commander  at  Fort  St. 
Thomas. 

The  discontent  which  arose  from  the  measures  of  the  admiral 
grew  in  extent  and  violence.  Not  only  did  the  cavaliers  take 
umbrage  at  the  edict  requiring  all  to  labor,  but  as  the  admiral 
made  the  rule  of  short  rations  universal,  and  himself  submitted 
to  the  general  necessity  and  regulation,  the  rule  included  some 
who,  while  they  should  have  supported  the  measure  and  have 
given  a  good  example  to  others,  inconsiderately  opposed  it. 
Among  these  was  Father  Boil,  the  vicar  apostolic.  The  charge 
of  cruelty  having  been  made,  this  ecclesiastic  conferred  a  sem 
blance  of  truth  to  the  accusation  by  sustaining  it.  He  did  not 
submit  meekly  to  the  reduction  in  the  allowances  of  food.  Orig 
inally  he  had  been  an  admirer  of  Columbus,  but  from  the  moment 


2/2  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

the  admiral  decided  to  trust  in  the  truth  and  loyalty  of  the  native 
chief,  Guacanagari,  against  the  severer  counsels  of  the  vicar 
apostolic,  the  latter  evidently  nursed  a  resentment  born  rather  of 
wounded  pride  than  of  discreet  zeal.  His  sentiments  now  found 
open  expression.  He  sustained  the  charge  of  cruelty  which  the 
misguided  people  made  so  unjustly  against  Columbus,  thus  giving 
plausibility  to  it,  and  the  course  he  adopted  had  a  direct  ten 
dency  and  effect  of  fomenting  disaffection  and  of  finally  leading 
to  revolt.  Father  Boil  had  been  accustomed  rather  to  diplo 
matic  than  missionary  services,  and  the  apostolate,  which  he 
might  have  honored,  illy  suited  his  tastes.  Many  of  the  twelve 
missionaries  of  various  religious  orders  participated  in  his  lack 
of  zeal  and  self-sacrifice,  and  spent  their  time  mostly  in  untimely 
regrets  for  the  homes  they  had  left  and  in  criticising  the  actions 
of  the  admiral.  There  were  some  honorable  exceptions,  how 
ever,  to  this  state  of  things,  and  the  good  brother,  Juan  Bergog- 
non,  and  "  the  pious  hermit,"  as  he  was  called,  Roman  Pane,  are 
entitled  to  be  named  with  reverence.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  few 
of  the  missionaries  fully  participated  in  Father  Boil's  sentiments 
expressed  in  his  letter  to  the  sovereigns,  acknowledging  the  diffi 
culties  of  the  Indian  language,  the  inutility  of  his  remaining,  and 
requesting  his  recall. 

Recent  researches  among  the  Vatican  secret  archives  have  dis 
closed  the  singular  fact  that  Father  Bernard  Boil,  whose  name 
has  been  tortured  into  a  dozen  different  forms,  such  as  Buil,  by 
Winsor,  and  Boyle,  by  Fiske,  "  which,"  the  latter  remarks, 
"  strongly  suggests  an  Irish  origin,"  was  not,  in  fact,  the  person 
appointed  by  the  Holy  See  to  the  high  office  of  Vicar  Apostolic 
of  the  Indies  ;  and  that  the  person  appointed,  in  fact,  was  Father 
Bernard  Boyle,  the  Provincial  of  the  Franciscan  Order  in  Spain.* 
It  was  the  wily  Ferdinand  who  availed  himself  of  the  similarity 
in  the  names,  and  substituted  a  favorite  of  his  own,  Father  Boil 
or  Buil,  a  Benedictine  monk  of  Catalonia.  Both  the  Count  de 
Lorgues  and  the  Italian  historian  and  publicist,  Francesco  Tar- 


*  It  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  between  Rome  and  Spain  a  mistake  was  made  in 
the  appointment  of  Father  Boil  as  vicar  apostolic  for  another  of  a  similar  name, 
since  his  name  was  rendered  in  so  many  different  forms — viz.,  Boil,  Buil,  Buyl,  Buyll, 
Buill,  Bueill,  Buillius,  Bueillus,  Buelius,  Buellius,  Bucillus,  Bucillius,  and  finally 
Boyle. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  2/3 

ducci,  circumstantially  mention  this-  fact.*  The  latter  says  : 
"  Father  Boil  was  a  learned  Benedictine,  an  accomplished  diplo 
matist,  and  the  king  and  queen  had  repeatedly  made  use  of  his 
ability,  employing  him  with  profit  in  the  negotiations  with 
France  for  the  restitution  of  Roussillon.  Now,  when  Columbus 
came  back  telling  of  his  discovery,  and  every  one  believed  that 
he  had  reached  the  extreme  eastern  limits  of  Asia,  near  the  em 
pire  of  the  Grand  Khan  and  the  states  of  the  other  powerful 
monarchs  of  the  East,  as  it  was  necessary  to  send  some  one  to 
preside  over  the  new  church  they  were  sure  of  establishing  in 
those  countries,  the  prudent  Ferdinand  set  his  eyes  on  this  man 
as  one  who,  at  the  same  time  that  he  was  fulfilling  the  duties  of 
his  ecclesiastical  dignity,  would  be  of  great  use  to  him  as  an 
able  diplomatist  in  his  relations  with  those  distant  courts,  and 
proposed  his  name  to  Rome.  The  consequence  was  that  instead 
of  a  priest  full  of  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel  and  of  self-denial,  fitted 
to  sustain  worthily  and  fruitfully  the  office  of  apostle,  there  was 
sent  out  to  those  naked  savages  a 'friar  with  his  head  filled  with 
subtleties,  cabals,  and  the  wisdom  that  rules  the  art  of  politics. 
There  has  lately  been  discovered,-  in  the  secret  archives  of  the 
Vatican,  the  original  bull  instituting  the  vicariate  apostolic  of  the 
new  regions  discovered  by  Columbus.  The  date  is  July  /th, 
1493,  but  the  person  there  named  for  that  dignity  is  not  Father 
Bernard  Boil,  of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict,  but  Father  Bernard 
Boyle,  Provincial  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis  in  Spain  ;  and  as 
it  is  certain  that  it  was  the  Benedictine  who  received  and  exe 
cuted  that  duty  in  the  new  world,  it  is  suspected  that  the  Pope 
had  nominated  the  Franciscan  before  he  had  received  the  pro 
posal  of  King  Ferdinand  in  favor  of  the  Benedictine  monk.  But 
when  the  bulls  were  received  in  Spain,  finding  that  the  person 
named  by  the  Pope  responded  perfectly  in  name  and  surname 
(no  account  being  taken  of  the  y  instead  of  the  z,  both  being 
pronounced  alike),  the  only  difference  being  the  designation  of 
the  religious  order  to  which  he  belonged,  it  was  easily  believed, 
or  pretended  to  be  believed,  that  this  designation  was  a  mistake, 
and  the  bulls  were  given  effect  in  favor  of  Father  Bernard  Boil, 
the  Benedictine."  f 

*  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.   358,   Brownson's  translation  ;  Count 
de  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  p.  320,  Dr.  Barry's  translation. 

f  Munoz,    lib.    iv.,    §  xxii.  ;    Navarrete,    Doc.    No.    xlv.  ;    Brownson's    translation. 


274  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  when  Father  Boll  accepted 
the  appointment  of  vica.r  apostolic,  he  and  his  friend,  King  Ferdi 
nand,  in  common  with  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  supposed  that 
he  was  only  to  exchange  the  regal  surroundings  of  the  court  of 
Spain  for  those  of  the  Grand  Khan  and  other  Oriental  potentates. 
Little  did  he  suppose  that  instead  of  practising  the  subtleties  ol 
Machiavelli  with  brilliancy  among  Oriental  scholars  and  diplo 
mats,  his  mission  would  turn  out  to  be  the  simpler  yet  in  our 
eyes  the  more  holy  and  exalted  one  of  instructing  the  simple 
savages  of  Hispaniola  in  the  sublime  doctrines  of  Christ  from  the 
Catechism,  the  humblest  yet  profoundest  of  books.  Expectation 
yielded  to  disappointment  and  disgust  at  his  position,  which 
became  galling  to  the  distinguished  ecclesiastic  ;  this  was  in 
creased  when  he  found  himself  less  influential  in  the  government 
and  councils  of  the  Indies,  even  though  he  was  appointed  one  of 
the  council  to  assist  Don  Diego  in  the  administration  during  the 
admiral's  absence  in  the  expedition  to  explore  Cuba  and  Jamaica  ; 
he  found  his  influence  less  in  Hispaniola  than  in  Spain,  under 
Columbus  than  under  Ferdinand  ;  and  the  ill-will  he  conceived 
at  the  refusal  of  Columbus  to  follow  his  harsh  measures  recom 
mended  toward  the  cacique,  Guacanagari,  culminated  when  the 
friar  was  put  on  short  rations  with  the  rest  of  the  colony  when 
it  was  threatened  with  starvation.  Such  was  the  resentful  con 
duct  of  Father  Boil,  that  Tarducci  says  he  had  his  food  entirely 
cut  off  by  the  admiral ;  but  this  was  not  done  until  the  culminating 
act  of  the  vicar  apostolic,  which  I  will  now  relate. 

'  Father  Boll  went  to  the  extremity  of  using  his  ecclesiastical 
functions  as  a  weapon  in  a  purely  secular  and  personal  quarrel 
of  his  own.  He  pronounced  sentence  of  excommunication  against 
the  admiral.  It  does  not  seem  that  Columbus  paid  any  regard 
to  this  manifestly  unjust  proceeding,  or  ever  sought  its  reversal, 
nor  did  it  ever  seem  to  affect  his  actual  relations  with  the  Church, 
The  whole  matter  is  thus  mentioned  and  expounded  by  the  Rev. 
Arthur  George  Knight,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  in  his  "  Life  of 
Columbus,"  wherein  he  quotes  the  high  theological  authority  of 
Father  Gury,  in  his  "  Compendium  of  Moral  Theology. "  Father 
Knight  says  :  '  The  real  anxiety  of  Columbus  lay  in  the  new 


of  Tarducci's    "Columbus,"    vol.   i.,    p.    3585    Barry's   De   Lorgues'   "Columbus," 
P-  3IQ- 


ON  COLUMBUS. 

city.  Strange  maladies,  caused  by  noxious  vapors  and  helped 
by  vicious  indulgence,  spread  among  the  Spaniards.  The  supply 
of  flour  failed,  and  hands  to  grind  the  wheat  were  growing 
scarcer  every  day.  It  was  no  time,  the  viceroy  thought,  for 
standing  upon  pride  of  caste.  He  ordered  all  the  able-bodied 
men,  gentle  and  simple,  to  take  their  turn  at  the  grinding,  under 
penalty  of  having  their  rations  diminished.  This  was  an  indig 
nity  not  to  be  borne  by  the  '  blue  blood  '  of  Spain,  even  though 
no  other  course  could  save  the  little  colony  from  famine  and 
pestilence.  Father  Boil  sympathized  with  the  young  cavaliers, 
and  reproved  Columbus  for  his  '  cruelty  '  when,  according  to  his 
threat,  he  punished  the  refractory  by  diminution  of  rations.  By 
loudly  proclaiming  his  disapprobation  of  the  measures  adopted, 
he,  perhaps  thoughtlessly,  did  much  to  foment  disaffection. 
When,  in  spite  of  his  remonstrances,  the  admiral  persisted  in  his 
conscientious  efforts  to  save  his  people  from  destruction,  Father 
Bo'il  committed  the  extravagant  folly  of  excommunicating  him 
for  doing  what  he  felt  to  be  his  duty.  He  was  altogether  in 
capable  of  understanding  the  great  soul  of  Columbus.  Either 
the  theological  course  of  study  at  La  Rabida,  or  common  sense, 
was  enough  to  certify  that  the  censures  of  the  Church  only  fall 
upon  sinful  acts,  and  that  where  no  fault  exists  excommunication 
only  causes  external  annoyance,  and  imposes  no  obligation  bind 
ing  in  conscience  beyond  the  general  duty  of  receiving  even  an 
unjust  sentence  with  respectful  demeanor.  Under  very  peculiar 
circumstances  acquiescence  may  be  sinful.  Even  ecclesiastical 
superiors  must  be  disobeyed  if  they  command  an  injustice,  and 
spiritual  penalties  in  such  case  fall  harmlessly  upon  the  soul 
which  in  good  faith  disregards  them  at  the  bidding  of  con 
science.*  Father  Boil  was  resisting  legitimate  authority  in  a 
civil  matter,  and  deserved  chastisement.  As  he  had-  not  the 
spirit  of  a  martyr,  a  little  fasting  on  bread  and  water  reduced 
him  to  silence,  though  of  course  it  did  not  improve  his  temper. 
Many  proud  spirits  had  been  offended  beyond  forgiveness,  but  a 
more  conciliatory  policy  might  have  been  even  more  disastrous, 
and  probably  was  not  feasible.  The  hidalgos  were  not  open  to 
argument  where  their  pride  was  touched.  To  exempt  them 
from  a  share  in  the  burden  was  to  throw  it  all  upon  a  few  poor 


"  Compendium  Theologicum  Morale,"  P.  Joan  Gury,  S.  J.,  t.  ii.,  §§  932,  934,  937. 


2/6  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

men,  who,  with  their  decreasing  numbers,  would  have  had  to  be 
literally  worked  to  death  to  supply  the  growing  wants  of  the 
invalids  and  privileged  idlers.  Columbus  in  this  emergency 
showed  once  more  that  indomitable  will  which  clings  to  duty  at 
all  costs,  and  braves  popular  clamor  rather  than  commit  injustice 
or  depart  from  principle."  *  While  historians  uniformly  con 
demn  the  conduct  of  Father  Boil,  and  no  doubt  his  brethren  of 
the  Order  of  St.  Benedict  unite  with  them,  it  must  be  acknowl 
edged  that  the  Benedictines  have  since  and  now  a  hundred-fold 
repaired  the  scandal  his  example  then  gave,  as  is  well  exemplified 
in  America  by  the  numerous  Benedictine  abbeys,  priories,  col 
leges,  convents,  and  schools  in  our  own  country.  Those  vener 
able  monks  now  have  in  the  United  States  two  arch  abbots,  seven 
mitred  abbots,  and  a  host  of  pious  and  learned  religious  conduct 
ing  the  Benedictine  institutions  in  our  midst. 

While  it  was  easy  for  persons  thus  necessarily  subjected  to 
distasteful  privations  for  the  common  safety  to  accuse  Columbus 
of  cruelty  even  toward  his  Spanish  followers,  and  some  historians 
have  unguardedly  been  led  to  this  view,  it  has  well  been  re 
marked  that  the  progress  of  riper  studies  and  more  thorough  re 
searches  has  tended  of  late  greatly  to  the  vindication  of  Colum 
bus,  and  to  the  exaltation  of  his  name  and  character.  Not  only 
is  this  true  in  respect  to  the  charge  of  arbitrary  administration 
and  cruel  measures  toward  the  colonists  he  brought  to  Hispaniola, 
but  it  is  equally  true  in  respect  to  the  impression  that  he  was 
destitute  of  the  faculty  of  wise  and  discreet  government,  which 
is  now  a  refuted  statement. 

The  charges  of  cruelty  and  tyranny  which  his  enemies  made 
against  Columbus  have  been  often  refuted.  Mr.  John  Fiske,  in 
his  admirable  work  on  "  The  Discovery  of  America,"  vol.  i., 
p.  481,  writes  justly  and  ably  on  this  subject,  and  says  :  "  No 
marked  effect  seems  to  have  been  produced  by  these  first  com 
plaints,  but  when  Margarite  and  Boyle  [Boil]  were  once  within 
reach  of  Fonseca,  we  need  not  wonder  that  mischief  was  soon 
brewing.  It  was  unfortunate  for  Columbus  that  his  work  of 
exploration  was  hampered  by  the  necessity  of  founding  a  colony 
and  governing  a  parcel  of  unruly  men,  let  loose  in  the  wilderness, 


*  "The  Life  of  Columbus,"  by  Arthur  George  Knight,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
pp.  119-21. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  277 

far  away  from  the  powerful  restraints  of  civilized  society.  Such 
work  required  undivided  attention  and  extraordinary  talent  for 
command.  It  does  not  appear  that  Columbus  was  lacking  in 
such  talent.  On  the  contrary,  both  he  and  his  brother  Bartholo 
mew  seem  to  have  possessed  it  in  a  high  degree  ;  but  the  situa 
tion  was  desperately  bad  when  the  spirit  of  mutiny  was  fomented 
by  deadly  enemies  at  court.  I  do  not  find  adequate  justification 
for  the  charges  of  tyranny  brought  against  Columbus.  The  ve 
racity  and  fairness  of  the  history  of  Las  Casas  are  beyond  ques 
tion.  In  his  divinely  beautiful  spirit  one  sees  now  and  then  a 
trace  of  tenderness  even  for  Fonseca,  whose  conduct  toward 
him  was  always  as  mean  and  malignant  as  toward  Columbus. 
One  gets  from  Las  Casas  the  impression  that  the  admiral's  high 
temper  was  usually  kept  under  firm  control,  and  that  he  showed 
far  less  severity  than  most  men  would  have  done  under  similar 
provocation.  Bartholomew  was  made  of  sterner  stuff,  but  his 
whole  career  shows  no  instance  of  wanton  cruelty  ;  toward  both 
white  men  and  Indians  his  conduct  was  distinguished  by  clem 
ency  and  moderation.  Under  the  government  of  these  brothers 
a  few  scoundrels  were  hanged  in  Hispaniola.  Many  more  ought 
to  have  been." 


CHAPTER   X. 

"  Where'er  thou  journeyest,  or  whate'er  thy  care, 
My  heart  shall  follow  and  my  spirit  share." 

— MRS.    SlGOURNEY. 

"  Oh,  sad  vicissitudes 
Of  earthly  things  !     To  what  untimely  end 
Are  all  the  fading  glories  that  attend 
Upon  the  state  of  greatest  monarchs  brought  ! 
What  safety  can  by  policy  be  wrought, 
Or  rest  be  found  on  fortune's  restless  wheel." 

— MAY'S  "  HENRY  II." 

BEFORE  departing  on  his  long-intended  voyage  of  discovery 
among  the  islands  of  the  new  world,  Columbus,  with  sagacity 
and  forethought,  placed  everything  in  Hispaniola  in  the  best 
condition  then  and  there  possible.  He  was  habitually  most 
painstaking  in  all  such  emergencies,  and  endeavored  to  foresee 
and  provide  in  advance  for  them.  In  the  first  place,  he  wrote  a 
detailed  and  admirable  series  of  instructions  for  Margarite,  to 
whom  was  intrusted  the  preservation  of  the  peace  of  the  island 
during  the  admiral's  absence.  His  first  injunctions  charged  that 
commander,  above  all  things,  to  protect  the  natives  from  all 
injustice  and  ill-treatment  at  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  and  by 
kindness  to  win  their  good-will  and  friendship  ;  he  was  on  all 
occasions,  however,  to  exact  from  the  natives  the  respect  due  to 
the  Spanish  authority,  and  the  observance  of  the  rights  of  prop 
erty  ;  thefts  from  the  Spaniards  were  to  be  severely  punished  ; 
ail  purchases  of  food  from  the  natives  for  the  Spaniards  were  to 
be  justly  and  fully  paid  for,  and  only  in  cases  of  necessity  was  he 
to  compel  them  to  part  with  provisions,  and  to  then  always 
temper  compulsion  with  kindness.  Private  dealings  between  the 
Spaniards  and  the  natives  were  strictly  forbidden,  and,  even 
above  all  gold  and  food,  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  to  Chris 
tianity  was  to  be  preferred,  such  being  the  wish  of  the  Spanish 
sovereigns  and  his  own  ;  the  strictest  discipline  in  the  army  was 
to  be  kept  up  and  enforced.  These  wise  and  honorable  measures, 


ON   COLUMBUS.  2/9 

if  faithfully  carried  out  by  Margarite,  would  have  assuredly  pre 
served  the  peace  of  the  island,  and  have  won  the  friendship  of  the 
natives.  It  was  true  that  the  admiral  gave  instructions  for  the 
capture  of  the  warlike  and  treacherous  Caonabo  and  his  brothers, 
for  no  peace  could  be  preserved  as  long  as  they  were  at  liberty 
to  conspire  and  war  against  the  Spaniards  ;  and  though  he 
authorized  resort,  for  this  purpose,  to  force  and  stratagem,  he 
considered  that  the  necessity  of  the  case  and  the  treacherous 
character  of  these  enemies  justified  it.  How  far  Margarite 
obeyed  the  instructions  of  his  superior  the  sequel  will  show  ; 
but  alas  !  the  viceroy's  authority  was  like  the  crowns  of  earthly 
sovereigns,  which  are  studded  outside  with  diamonds,  but  inside 
are  lined  with  thorns.  Columbus  had  reached  a  plane  of  glory, 
honor,  power,  and  dignity  which  made  him  the  object  of  envy 
and  malice  among  his  followers,  of  slander  and  detraction  among 
courtiers,  and  of  the  ingratitude  of  sovereigns. 

In  order  also  to  secure  the  civil  welfare,  peace,  and  good 
administration  of  the  colony  and  island,  he  appointed  a  council 
of  eminent  men  to  conduct  affairs  in  his  absence  ;  these  council 
lors  were  his  brother,  Don  Diego  Columbus,  whom  he  made 
president  of  the  council,  and  the  other  members  were  Father 
Boi'l,  Pedro  Fernandez  Coronel,  Alonzo  Sanchez  Caravajal,  and 
Juan  de  Luxan.  In  thus  appointing  Father  Bo'il,  whose  enmjity 
to  himself  he  well  knew,  was  displayed  one  of  those  frequent 
acts  in  the  life  of  this  illustrious  admiral  which  showed  him  to 
be  always  above  private  revenge,  and  magnanimous  to  his  en 
emies.  He  determined  to  leave  in  the  colony  the  two  largest 
ships,  which  he  knew  were  of  too  deep  a  draft  of  water  to  be  used 
in  exploring  the  coasts  and  inlets  of  the  island,  and  he  took  with 
him  his  three  caravels — the  Nina,  or  Santa  Clara,  the  San  Juan, 
and  the  Cordera.  The  important  island  of  Hispaniola,  which  was 
thus  left  under  the  civil  jurisdiction  of  Don  Diego  Columbus  and' 
the  council  or  junta,  and  under  the  military  care  of  Ojeda  and 
Margarite,  deserves  some  notice  at  our  hands  as  to  its  territorial 
and  political  distribution.  This  will  aid  in  detailing  and  under 
standing  our  future  historical  narratives. 

Hayti,  as  the  natives  called  it,  was  divided  into  five  kingdoms 
or  lordships,  each  of  which  was  ruled  over  by  a  king  or  principal 
cacique  or  chief,  each  of  whom  had  under  him  a  number  of  lesser 
caciques,  lords  or  vassals.  The  five  paramount  caciques  were 


280  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

Guarionex,  Caonabo,  Behechio,  Guacanagari,  and  Guayacoa. 
The  northeast  portion  of  the  island  was  governed  by  Guarionex, 
a  prince  descended  from  the  most  illustrious  ancestors,  and  in  his 
dominions  was  situated  the  beautiful  and  grand  plain,  which  the 
Spaniards  had  named  the  Royal  Vega.  In  this  kingdom  was 
also  erected  the  city  of  Isabella  by  the  Spaniards,  a  liberty  taken 
without  condescending  to  ask  the  monarch's  consent.  The 
northeastern  part  was  ruled  over  by  the  prince  with  whom  we 
are  now  most  familiar,  the  amiable  but  weak  Guacanagari,  and 
extended  from  Antibonite  to  beyond  Monte  Christo.  The  most 
eastern  portions  were  under  the  rude  sceptre  of  Guayacoa,  whose 
tribe,  accustomed  to  attacks  by  the  Caribs,  had  become  the  most 
warlike  and  the  best  armed,  skilled  in  war,  and  bravest,  from  the 
necessity  they  labored  under  of  frequently  defending  their  homes 
and  country  from  their  cannibal  neighbors.  The  mountainous 
part  of  the  island  was  reigned  over  by  the  redoubtable  Caonabo, 
from  the  heights  of  Cibao  to  the  southern  shore.  He  was  of 
Carib  origin,  and  no  one  knew  his  pedigree,  for  he  came  a 
stranger  and  an  adventurer.  Thrown  on  the  island  by  accident, 
he  was  there  detained  by  a  romantic  love  affair,  and  having 
become  a  soldier,  and  by  his  ability  secured  power,  like  another 
Napoleon,  he  crowned  himself.  He  was  feared  by  his  neighbors, 
and  his  alliance  sought.  The  remainder  of  the  island,  constitut 
ing  its  greater  part,  extending  from  Antibonite  westward  toward 
Cape  Tiburon,  and  containing  the  famous  salt  lake  of  Xaragua, 
which  was  legendary  with  tales  of  wonder  and  mystery,  was 
governed  by  Behechio.  The  natives  were  generaHy  of  a  timid 
and  peaceful  character,  with  the  exception  of  the  tribes  living  at 
the  east  and  toward  the  Caribbean  Island,  and  the  warlike  tribes 
of  the  warrior  and  lover-king,  Caonabo.  The  soil  of  the  whole 
island  was  rich,  the  climate  enervating  ;  the  food  products  were 
spontaneous  and  abundant,  and  before  the  advent  of  Europeans 
life  was  blissful,  indolent,  and  free.  Such  was  the  first  perma 
nent  conquest  of  Europeans  in  America,  and  such  the  dominion 
now  temporarily  left  by  Columbus  to  the  regency  of  his  brother 
Diego  and  the  Council  of  State. 

Having  completed  all  his  preparations,  provided  for  all  things 
with  prudence  and  forethought,  the  admiral  saw  Don  Alonzo  de 
Ojeda  march  forth  from  Isabella  on  April  gth,  with  his  gallant 
little  army  of  nearly  four  hundred  men,  who  soon  arrived  at  Rio- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  28l 

del  Oro,  in  the  Royal  Vega.  Here,  learning  that  a  neighboring- 
cacique  had  connived  at  the  robbery  of  three  Spaniards,  return 
ing  from  Fort  St.  Thomas,  by  five  Indians,  whom  he  had  sent 
ostensibly  to  assist  the  travelers  to  ford  the  river,  Ojeda,  with 
the  promptness  and  impulse  of  a  soldier  of  the  fifteenth  century 
— though  four  intervening  centuries  have  not  materially  altered 
now  a  soldier's  method  of  dealing  with  Indians — immediately 
pursued  and  caught  one  of  the  robbers,  and  caused  his  ears  to  be 
cut  off  in  the  public  square  ;  he  arrested  the  cacique,  his  son  and 
nephew,  and  sent  them  in  chains  to  the  admiral,  and  then  coolly 
pursued  his  march.  The  admiral,  generally  lenient  with  the 
natives,  now  formed  his  judgment  of  the  guilt  of  his  prisoners 
from  the  account  sent  to  him  by  Ojeda,  and  refusing  to  listen  to 
the  intercession  of  a  neighboring  cacique,  who  accompanied  the 
prisoners  to  Isabella  from  sympathy,  he  ordered  the  poor  and 
dejected  natives  to  be  marched,  with  their  hands  tied  behind 
them,  to  the  public  square  and  beheaded.  At  the  last  moment 
he  spared  and  released  his  royal  prisoners  at  the  entreaty  of  the 
friendly  cacique,  who  went  their  surety  that  the  offence  should 
never  be  repeated.  It  is  believed  that  the  admiral  did  not  from 
the  beginning  intend  to  punish  the  offenders  with  death,  though 
theft  was  punished  among  the  natives  themselves  by  impalement. 
Just  at  this  moment  a  Spanish  horseman  arrived  in  town  from, 
the  fort,  and  reported  that  on  passing  the  village  of  the  captive 
cacique,  he  had  found  five  Spaniards  in  the  hands  of  his  subjects  ; 
but  on  the  sight  of  the  horse  and  rider  the  natives,  four  hundred 
in  number,  had  precipitately  fled,  and  that  he  had  pursued  them, 
wounded  several  with  his  lance,  and  had  recaptured  and  tri 
umphantly  brought  back  the  Spanish  prisoners.  Such  adven 
tures  were  greatly  to  the  tastes  of  the  Spanish  cavaliers,  many 
of  whom  preferred  such  glory  to  the  richest  booty  in  the  precious 
metal.  This  incident  convinced  Columbus  that  he  had  nothing 
to  fear  from  the  natives,  and  on  April  24th,  1494,  he  sailed  out 
of  port,  with  his  three  caravels,  on  his  westward  cruise  of  dis 
covery  and  exploration. 

Columbus  selected  the  Nina  for  his  flag-ship,  and  on  her  deck 
he  placed  the  admiral's  pavilion.  She  was  commanded  by 
Alonzo  Medel,  of  Palos.  The  Cordera  was  the  property  of 
Cristobal  Perez  Nino,  of  Palos,  and  the  San  Juan  was  commanded 
by  a  seaman  from  Malaga,  but  had  a  crew  from  Palos.  It  must 


282  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

be  remembered  that  the  Nina,  the  little  caravel  which  was  in  the 
first  voyage  in  which  America  was  discovered,  and  which 
stanchly  carried  him  back  to  Europe  amid  terrific  storms,  had 
now  become  the  Santa  Clara,  so  called  by  Columbus  in  honor 
of  St.  Clare,  the  seraphic  daughter  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis. 
Among  the  officers  he  carried  were  Father  Antonio  de  Marchena, 
who  was  an  accomplished  astronomer,  the  physician-in-chief, 
Dr.  Chanca,  and  others  of  eminence  and  ability. 

In  going  to  explore  Cuba  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  Colum 
bus  and  his  companions,  and  all  the  world  with  them,  believed 
that  it  was  the  Continent  of  Asia,  and  that  by  commencing  his 
discoveries  and  explorations  at  the  point  where  he  had  left  off  in 
the  first  voyage,  and  continuing  to  coast  along  its  southern  side, 
he  would  assuredly  reach  the  opulent  and  luxurious  countries  so 
graphically  described  by  Mandeville  and  Marco  Polo,  the  golden 
and  commercial  regions  of  the  famed  Cathay.  What  we  no\v 
know  of  the  West  India  Islands  was  information  first  obtained 
by  Columbus  in  this  and  other  similar  cruises  ;  more  minute 
knowledge  of  them  and  of  the  two  continents  of  the  Western 
Hemisphere  followed  from  his  and  other  subsequent  voyages  ; 
and  when  we  consider  how  many  years  passed  before  the  con 
tinents  were  explored  or  known  as  such,  and  the  Pacific  Ocean 
was  discovered  or  entered  by  Europeans,  we  can  the  better 
appreciate  this  expedition,  its  importance,  its  method  of  prosecu 
tion,  and  its  results.  So  far  from  possessing  little  importance  at 
the  present  day,  it  is  full  of  interest  and  significance,  showing 
the  slow  and  gradual,  timid  and  experimental  manner  in  which 
mankind  has  been  left  by  the  Creator  of  the  world  to  explore  and 
become  acquainted  with  the  planet  given  them  for  their  home. 
It  constitutes  an  important  chapter  in  the  history  of  geography. 
What  now  could  be  easily  accomplished  by  a  school-boy  on  his 
yacht  in  a  summer  vacation,  then  required  the  greatest  of  sea 
men,  cosmographers,  and  discoverers  to  undertake,  and  even 
then  to  leave  unfinished.  The  feelings,  thoughts,  hopes,  doubts, 
expedients,  and  bold  adventures  which  then  formed  a  part  of 
the  admiral's  career  of  discovery  and  exploration  must  now 
become  our  own,  and  we  must  enter  into  them,  adopt  them,  in 
order  to  do  justice  to  his  services,  appreciate  his  achievements, 
and  sympathize  with  his  position.  We  must  with  him  dream 
again  his  realizing  dreams,  for 


ON  COLUMBUS.  283 

"  Dreams  are  rudiments 

Of  the  great  state  to  come.     We  dream  what  is 
About  to  happen." 

— BAILEY. 

The  fleet  first  stopped  at  Monte  Christo,  and  on  the  very  day 
of  sailing  reached  the  ill-fated  harbor  of  La  Navidad,  so  deeply 
associated  with  saddest  events.  He  desired  here  to  secure  an 
interview  with  his  friend,  the  cacique  Guacanagari,  still  trusting 
in  his  loyalty  and  hoping  to  restore  confidence  on  both  sides  by 
an  exchange  of  explanations.  But  the  weak  and  timid  chieftain 
studiously  avoided  such  a  meeting,  and  retired  to  the  woods  with 
his  family  and  simple  court  on  seeing  the  ships  enter  the  harbor  ; 
and  though  several  of  his  subjects  assured  the  admiral  that  the 
cacique  was  coming  to  visit  him  on  his  ship,  the  meeting  never 
took  place.  The  amorous  chief  was  solicitous,  as  is  supposed, 
for  the  possession  of  his  fair  campanion,  the  proud  Catalina,  now 
his  queen.  The  other  object  of  Columbus  in  visiting  this  spot 
was  to  arrange  for  supplies  to  his  colony  from  the  abundance  of 
friendly  neighbors,  but  this  negotiation  he  was  obliged  to  forego 
for  want  of  time  ;  and  he  sailed  out  of  the  harbor,  leaving  behind 
the  saddest  associations  both  of  the  dead  and  the  living.  The 
former  could  never  be  effaced  ;  but  Guacanagari  proved  his 
fidelity  afterward,  and  became  one  of  the  most  painful  sacrifices 
to  the  advance  of  Spanish  dominion,  in  the  loss  of  kingdom, 
home,  and  life  itself. 

The  winds  not  proving  favorable,  the  fleet  arrived  on  the  29th 
at  Port  St.  Nicholas,  and  here  he  could  see  the  extreme  end  of 
Cuba,  previously  named  by  the  admiral  Alpha  and  Omega,  now 
called  Point  Maysi ;  and,  after  crossing  the  channel  and  coasting 
along  the  southern  side  of  Cuba  for  a  distance  of  twenty  leagues, 
he  reached  and  anchored  at  the  fine  harbor  of  Guantanamo,  then 
called  by  him  Puerto  Grande.  Entering  the  port  through  the 
narrow  entrance,  Columbus  landed  near  and  visited  the  cottages 
he  saw  ;  but  the  inhabitants  had  fled,  leaving  their  fires  expiring 
and  a  bountiful  meal  unconsumed.  The  Spaniards,  who  were 
still  on  short  allowances  of  food,  enjoyed  the  good  things  the 
natives  had  left  behind  ;  but  the  guanas  they  could  not  accept, 
even  though  hungry,  regarding  them  as  a  species  of  serpent, 
though  Peter  Martyr  relates  that  the  Indians  regarded  them  in 
so  exalted  a  light  that,  like  peacocks  and  pheasants  in  Spain,  the 


284  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

common  people  were  forbidden  to  eat  of  them.  The  fugitive 
Indians  were  seen  afterward  assembled,  to  the  number  of  about 
seventy,  on  a  neighboring  eminence,  and  on  the  Spaniards  ap 
proaching  them,  fled  to  the  woods.  The  inhabitants  of  the  whole 
neighborhood  were  struck  with  panic  on  seeing  the  ships.  One 
of  the  Indians,  however,  lingered,  and,  with  mingled  fear  and 
curiosity,  finally  was  drawn  by  friendly  signs  to  stay,  though 
always  on  the  alert.  When  the  Lucayan  interpreter  from  one  of 
the  ships  accosted  him  in  that  dialect  and  with  words  of  friend 
ship,  he  lost  all  fear,  approached  and  entered  into  conversation  ; 
and  when  convinced  of  the  friendly  intentions  of  the  Spaniards, 
he  carried  the  tidings  to  his  companions,  whereupon  these  also 
gradually  came  forth  from  their  retreat,  and  approached  the 
strangers  with  awe  and  marked  respect.  The  disposition  of 
these  people  was  pacific,  like  that  of  the  Haytians  ;  they  freely 
and  pleasantly  sanctioned  the  consumption  of  their  feast  by  the 
strangers,  alleging  that  one  night's  fishing  would  replace  it,  and 
accepted  with  unfeigned  gratitude  the  European  trifles  which 
Columbus  gave  them  in  return.  He  never  allowed  their  offer 
ings  to  be  received  without  a  return  of  a  full  equivalent.*  These 
natives  had  come  to  the  shore  to  prepare  a  banquet  of  sea  food 
for  a  neighboring  cacique,  whom  their  own  chief  was  expecting- 
as  a  visitor  at  his  village,  and  the  fish  was  cooked  in  order  to 
save  it  from  spoiling. 

Columbus  continued  his  cruise  on  May  ist  to  the  west,  and  as 
he  advanced  the  coasts  became  precipitate  and  mountainous  ;  he 
saw  many  fine  harbors  and  rivers,  and  the  country  was  more 
fertile  and  populous.  Everywhere  the  neighbors  came  down  in 
crowds  to  see  the  visitors  from  the  skies,  offering  them  cassava 
bread,  fish,  fruits,  and  calabashes  of  water,  and  being  only  too 
happy  to  have  them  accepted  by  such  wonderful  and  mysterious 
beings.  The  admiral  in  one  instance  spent  a  night  on  shore,  and 
was  embarrassed  by  the  urgent  and  unstinted  hospitality  of  these 
innocent  people.  It  is  supposed  that  this  spot  is  the  present 
harbor  of  St.  Jago  de  Cuba.  As  usual  anxious  inquiries  were 
made  by  the  Spaniards  for  gold,  and  as  usual  they  were  informed 
that  it  abounded  farther  to  the  south.  The  natives  told  him  of 


*  Irving's  "Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.   397  ;  Barry's  translation  of  De  Lorgues'  "  Co 
lumbus,"  p.  292  ;  Peter  Martyr,  decad.  i.,  lib.  iii. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  28$ 

a  great  island  in  that  direction,  which,  from  its  reported  wealth 
in  gold,  Columbus  was  convinced  must  be  the  long-sought  and 
opulent  island  of  Babeque,  of  whose  existence  he  had  heard  on 
his  first  voyage.  He  accordingly,  on  May  3d,  turned  his  prows 
to  the  south,  abandoning  his  exploration  of  Cuba,  and  across  the 
open  sea  he  sailed  in  quest  of  that  favored  land. 

It  was  not  many  leagues  before  the  majestic  shores  and  moun 
tains  of  Jamaica  loomed  up  in  grandeur  before  him,  and,  after 
two  days'  and  nights'  sailing,  he  reached  and  anchored  in  a 
beautiful  harbor,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Santa  Gloria. 
He  also  gave  to  the  vast  island  the  name  of  Santiago,  but  it  has 
ever  been  called  by  its  original  native  name  of  Jamaica.  Leav 
ing  the  harbor  the  following  day  for  a  better  one,  he  entered 
and  anchored  in  a  fine  harbor,  which  he  called  Puerto  Bueno. 
At  his  first  approach  to  this  vicinity  the  natives  came  out  in 
canoes  with  hostile  manifestations,  but  these  by  a  few  presents 
were  dispelled.  At  his  present  harborage  the  natives  in  great 
numbers  prepared  for  war,  the  shore  resounded  with  yells  and 
war-cries,  and  their  javelins  were  hurled  violently  at  the  ships. 
The  admiral,  desiring  to  careen  his  ship,  the  Nina,  for  calking, 
and  to  send  his  men  on  shore  for  water,  found  it  necessary  first 
to  teach  a  lesson  of  Spanish  invincibility  to  these  warlike  savages. 
He  sent  his  boats  to  the  shore  with  men  well  armed  ;  a  first  dis 
charge  of  arrows  from  the  Spanish  cross-bows  wounded  some 
and  threw  the  whole  native  army  into  confusion,  whereupon  the 
Spaniards,  springing  ashore,  discharged  a  second  volley  of 
arrows,  which  put  the  multitude  to  flight.  A  dog  from  one  of 
the  Spanish  boats  pursued  the  Indians  with  terrific  fury,  biting 
them  as  they  fled.  Irving  relates  that  the  Spaniards  let  loose 
the  dog  to  pursue  the  Indians,  and  says  :  "  This  was  the  first 
instance  of  the  use  of  dogs  against  the  natives,  which  were  after 
ward  employed  with  such  cruel  effect  by  the  Spaniards  in  their 
Indian  wars."  But  the  Count  de  Lorgues  and  Dr.  Barry  give 
a  different  version  of  the  affair,  as  one  of  pure  accident,  and  say  : 
"  A  dog,  which  found  its  way  into  the  party,  seeing  them  flee, 
pursued  them  with  fury,  biting  them  in  their  hinder  parts  as 
they  fled."  They  also  state  that  it  was  this  incident  which  first 
suggested  to  the  Spaniards  the  idea  of  employing  dogs  against 
the  Indians,  as  they  afterward  most  shamefully  did.  Tarducci 
concurs  in  the  latter  view  of  the  accidental  presence  of  the  dog. 


286  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

Not  only  were  the  natives  of  Jamaica  more  warlike,  but  their 
food  was  better,  the  fruits  of  finer  flavor,  and  the  plants  and 
herbs  more  aromatic.  A  fruitless  cruise  along  the  coast,  for 
about  twenty-five  leagues,  having  disclosed  the  existence  of  na 
gold,  the  admiral  determined  to  return  to  Cuba  ;  and  he  thought 
that  by  coasting  fifty  or  sixty  leagues  he  could  determine  the 
question  whether  it  was  an  island  or  a  continent.  The  admiral 
was  surprised  to  find  the  Jamaicans  so  warlike,  while  their  neigh 
bors  were  pacific.  They  were  also  much  more  at  home  on  the 
water  ;  their  canoes  were  large,  and  were  made  of  the  trunks  of 
single  trees  ;  one  of  them  was  measured  by  the  admiral,  and  was 
ninety-six  feet  long  and  eight  feet  broad.  He  took  formal  pos 
session  of  the  island  for  the  Spanish  sovereigns.  Just  as  the  fleet 
was  about  to  sail  a  young  native  came  and  begged  to  be  taken 
on  board  the  departing  ship  ;  and  as  his  friends  and  relatives 
were  clinging  to  him  and  begging  him  to  desist  from  so  rash  a 
design,  his  feelings  for  a  moment  vibrated  between  love  of  home 
and  relatives,  on  the  one  side,  and  a  love  of  adventure,  novelty, 
and  romance  on  the  other  ;  when  suddenly  he  tore  himself  away 
violently  from  their  embrace  and  hid  himself  in  a  secret  part  of 
the  ship,  and  thus  saw  and  felt  no  more  the  tears  and  heard  not 
the  lamentations  of  his  sisters.  Columbus  caused  this  young 
adventurer  to  be  treated  with  marked  kindness,  but  his  subse 
quent  history  and  his  fate  have  never  been  recorded  by  his 
torians.* 

Some  historians  have  expressed  surprise  that,  of  the  many 
natives  of  the  new  world  whom  the  early  Spaniards  sent  ta 
Europe  in  their  returning  ships,  we  have  no  accounts,  and  little 
interest  seems  to  have  been  felt  in  the  result  of  this  method  of 
treating  the  Indians.  In  some  cases,  as  we  know,  the  red  men, 
transplanted  to  the  eastern  world,  have  sickened  and  died,  pining 
for  their  native  forests  and  hunting-grounds. 

Having  decided  to  steer  for  the  island  of  Cuba  again,  while 
anchored  in  a  fine  gulf  near  the  western  extremity  of  Jamaica, 
in  consequence  of  his  disappointment  in  finding  no  gold  in  the 
latter  island,  a  favorable  breeze  had  sprung  up  for  sailing  toward 
the  former,  and  he  called  this  gulf  Buentiempo,  or  Fair  Weather. 
The  fleet  arrived  off  the  coast  of  Cuba  on  May  i8th,  and  the 


*  Irvtng's  "Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  402;   "  Historia  del  Almirante,"  cap.  54 


ON   COLUMBUS.  287 

great  cape  where  they  first  arrived  was  called  Cabo  de  la  Cruz, 
or  Cape  of  the  Cross.  Having  landed  and  accepted  the  bounti 
ful  hospitality  of  the  cacique  of  a  large  village  and  its  inhabitants, 
the  Spaniards  learned  from  their  generous  entertainers  that  from 
the  time  of  their  former  landing  and  coasting  along  the  island, 
the  news  of  their  arrival  had  spread  far  and  near,  and  all  the 
inhabitants  were  eager  to  see  these  wonderful  strangers  from  the 
clouds.  The  admiral  questioned  these  Cubans  closely  as  to 
whether  this  was  an  island  or  a  continent,  and  so  vague  were 
their  answers  that  he  could  conclude  but  little  from  them,  though 
they  described  it  as  an  island  of  infinite  extent,  which  would 
indicate  that  such  was  the  native  idea  of  a  continent.* 

The  fleet  sailed  the  following  day  still  to  the  west  from  the  last 
point  of  landing,  which  the  Indians  called  Macaca,  and  when  it 
arrived  at  the  part  where  the  coast  abruptly  turned  and  extended 
many  leagues  to  the  northeast,  they  found  themselves  in  a  large 
gulf,  and  suddenly  enveloped  in  a  storm  of  extraordinary  vio 
lence,  in  which  would  have  perished  the  whole  fleet  but  for  its 
short  duration.  The  navigation  was  rendered  difficult  and  dan 
gerous  by  innumerable  keys  and  sand-banks,  and  from  these 
were  seen  in  the  distance  countless  small  islands,  some  of  which 
were  low  and  flat,  others  naked  and  sandy  ;  some  covered  with 
verdure,  and  others  elevated  and  crowned  with  fine  forests. 
His  judgment  as  a  navigator  would  have  led  him  to  steer  clear 
of  such  impassable  barriers,  but  his  geographical  studies  and 
theories  induced  him  to  recognize  in  this  labyrinth  of  islands  the 
coast  of  Asia,  as  described  by  Mandeville  and  Marco  Polo,  who 
portrayed  that  continent  as  approachable  through  an  archipelago 
of  countless  islands.  Now  surely  he  was  approaching  the 
dominions  of  the  Grand  Khan.  This  theory  induced  him  to 
attempt  to  sail  in  among  them,  but  he  was  entangled  in  an  im 
penetrable  network  of  islands,  and  navigation  was  difficult,  dan 
gerous,  and  even  impossible.  To  add  to  his  embarrassment,  the 
weather  showed  extraordinary  features  ;  but  upon  close  observa 
tion  there  was  method  and  regularity  in  its  apparent  caprices. 
Columbus  was  one  of  the  most  acute  and  correct  observers  of 
all  the  phenomena  of  nature,  and  in  this  instance  he  recorded 


"  Historia  del   Almirante,"    cap.   54;  Cura   de  los   Palacios,  cap.   126;  Irving's 
"Columbus,"  vol.  i..  p.  404;  Dr.  Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "Columbus,"   p.  295. 


288  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

his  observations,  to  the  effect  that  every  morning  the  wind  came 
from  the  east  and  every  evening  from  the  west  ;  on  the  approach 
of  night  the  west  was  heavily  clouded,  the  clouds  increasing  as 
they  approached  the  zenith  and  sending  forth  sheets  of  lightning, 
with  heavy  peals  of  thunder  ;  but  when  the  moon  appeared  the 
skies  immediately  became  serene  and  clear.  Fruitful  as  his  mind 
and  memory  were  in  selecting  names  from  the  calendar  of  saints, 
the  martyrotogy  of  the  Church,  and  from  her  history  and  devo 
tions,  he  was  at  a  loss  to  find  names  for  such  countless  groups  of 
islands,  and  he  called  them  all  together  the  Queen's  Gardens. 

During  the  month  spent  in  efforts  to  explore  this  dangerous 
labyrinth  of  islands,  Columbus  made  frequent  descents  on  the 
island  of  Cuba,  for  this  was  the  chief  object  of  his  study,  and 
endeavored  to  solve  the  mystery  of  its  geography  ;  but  the 
natives  were  confused  in  their  accounts,  and  ignorant  of  its  size 
and  surroundings.  They  had  never  heard  of  its  having  a  west 
ern  terminus  ;  a  ship  could  not  reach  its  extremity  in  forty 
moons  ;  but  they  referred  the  admiral  for  more  detailed  infor 
mation  to  a  tribe  living  more  to  the  west,  and  whose  country 
was  called  Mangon.  On  inquiring  further  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Mangon,  he  was  told  that  they  were  accustomed  to  wear  flowing 
garments  in  order  to  conceal  the  long  tails  with  which  their 
bodies  were  deformed  ;  and  here  again  his  ready  and  well-stored 
mind  recalled  passages  from  Sir  John  Mandeville,  giving  an 
account  of  some  naked  tribes  in  the  remote  East,  who  ridiculed 
the  practice  of  some  more  civilized  Orientals,  as  they  alleged,  in 
wearing  clothes  to  conceal  the  defects  of  their  persons,  for  they 
could  not  conceive  of  any  other  use  for  clothing.  The  name  of 
Mangon  also  was  believed  by  him  to  be  a  mere  corruption  of 
Mangi,  which  was  described  by  his  favorite  authors  as  the  rich 
est  of  the  maritime  provinces  of  the  Grand  Khan.  He  also  re 
called  the  Tartars,  dressed  in  flowing  robes.  They  described  the 
cacique  of  Mangon  as  wearing  a  long  robe,  and  such  may  have 
been  the  effect  of  this  account  on  the  imagination,  or  it  may  have 
been  reality  :  but  the  archer  of  the  expedition  saw,  while  in 
the  woods  near  one  of  the  landings  in  Cuba,  a  man  clothed  in 
white,  like  the  almoner  of  the  Santa  Clara  ;  the  number  of  the 
flowing  robes,  with  the  aid  of  the  imagination,  was  then  increased 
to  three,  and  finally  to  thirty.  An  effort  was  made  to  capture 
some  of  these  white-robed  people,  but  the  woods  were  impene- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  289 

trable  to  one  exploring  expedition,  and  another  was  frightened 
off  by  the  recent  footprints  on  the  shore  of  some  huge  animal 
with  claws.  It  is  difficult  to  say  whether  the  Europeans  or  the 
Indians  were  more  credulous,  or  laboring  under  more  amusing 
delusions.  Such  was  the  enthusiasm  of  the  admiral,  that  he 
thought  he  could  double  Aurea  Chersonesus  and  the  peninsula 
•of  Malacca,  and  might  emerge  into  the  seas  navigated  by  the 
Arabians  and  known  to  the  merchants  of  ancient  Rome  ;  he 
might  pass  Taprobana,  and  by  pushing  forward  strike  the  shores 
of  the  Red  Sea  ;  thence  travel  by  land  to  Jerusalem  and  the 
Holy  Land,  which  his  great  discoveries  would  enable  him  after 
ward  to  restore  by  a  crusade  to  Christendom  ;  and  then  again, 
going  on  ships  at  Joppa,  traverse  the  Mediterranean  and  return 
to  Spain  from  the  East.  It  is  a  familiar  fact  that  Columbus  lived 
and  died  under  these  impressions,  errors  in  which  all  the  learned 
world  were  united  with  him  in  opinion.  Columbus,  in  the  most 
formal  manner,  took  possession  of  what  he  was  convinced  was  a 
continent. 

Humboldt,  in  his  political  history  of  the  island  of  Cuba,  men 
tions  and  comments  upon  a  remarkable  method  of  fishing  which 
Columbus  saw  practised  by  the  Indians  of  this  region.  It  con 
sisted  in  using  a  small  live  fish  for  the  purpose  of  capturing 
larger  ones,  the  former  possessing  a  flat  head  filled  with  suckers, 
by  means  of  which,  when  let  loose  on  the  water  at  the  end  of  a 
long  line,  it  attached  itself  to  the  game  to  be  caught  with  such 
abiding  tenacity  as  to  be  torn  in  pieces  itself  rather  than  relax  its 
hold.  It  attached  itself  to  the  throat  of  a  large  fish  or  to  the 
under  shell  of  a  tortoise,  and  thus  both  fishes  were  drawn  in 
together  by  the  fisherman.  The  Spaniards  saw  a  large  tortoise 
caught  in  this  way,  and  on  the  coast  of  Veragua  afterward  a 
large  shark  was,  in  like  manner,  caught,  as  is  related  by  Fer 
nando  Columbus.  Other  navigators  have  seen  the  same  method 
of  fishing  practised  by  the  Africans,  on  the  eastern  coast  of 
Mozambique  and  at  Madagascar,  a  fact  which  deeply  interested 
Humboldt  as  an  evidence  of  how  savages,  in  different  and  un- 
connecting  parts  of  the  earth,  exercised  the  universal  dominion 
of  man  over  the  animal  kingdom  by  the  same  and  apparently 
uncommunicated  methods.* 


*  Humboldt,  "  Essai  Politique,"  etc.,  torn.  5.,  p.  364  ;  Irving's  "Columbus,"  vol. 
i.,  p.  408. 


290  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

These  cruises  had  now  exhausted  the  strength  of  the  sailors  ;. 
the  provisions  were  running  low,  and  the  crews  began  to  call 
out  for  a  return  to  Hispaniola.  The  admiral  himself  felt  more 
than  any  one  else  the  exhausting  strain.  He  was  forced  to 
abandon  his  proposal  to  sail  around  the  land  and  return  to  Spain 
by  way  of  the  East.*  It  was  resolved  to  go  no  further  ;  it  was 
considered  as  definitely  ascertained  that  the  continent  had  been 
discovered,  and  over  three  hundred  leagues  of  its  coasts  ex 
plored.  In  order  to  make  due  and  formal  record  of  so  important 
a  result,  the  admiral  sent  a  public  notary,  Fernando  Perez  de 
Luna,  accompanied  by  four  witnesses,  to  visit  each  vessel,  with 
instructions  to  ask  and  receive  the  opinion  of  every  one  on 
board — captain,  officers,  seamen,  and  ship-boys — whether  they 
entertained  a  doubt  as  to  the  country,  or  that  they  had  dis 
covered  the  continent  embracing  the  Indies  and  affording  a 
passage  from  the  East  to  Europe  and  a  return  to  Spain.  Al 
though  some  had  of  late  affected  to  question  his  statements  and 
conclusions  and  to  undervalue  his  discoveries,  his  sagacity  now 
brought  them  to  the  avowal,  and  every  man  in  the  fleet  solemnly 
signed  the  documents  presented  to  them  by  the  notary,  and  their 
signatures  were  attested  by  the  four  witnesses,  declaring  their 
conviction  in  the  reality  and  truth  of  the  admiral's  claim  as  the 
discoverer  of  the  extremities  of  Asia.  The  experienced  and 
veteran  navigators  on  the  fleet,  after  consulting  their  maps  and 
charts,  examining  the  journals  and  calculations  of  the  voyage, 
and  after  mature  deliberation,  all  declared  under  oath  that  this 
was  their  conviction,  and  that  it  was  not  susceptible  of  a  doubt. 
The  notary  also  drew  up  and  certified  a  formal  process,  after  the 
continental  forms  then  in  vogue,  embodying  the  declarations  and 
affidavits  of  all  the  men  and  officers.  The  admiral  proclaimed 
severe  punishments  on  such  as  ever  afterward  would  have  the 
perfidy  to  question  or  deny  what  they  had  now  so  solemnly 
asserted. 

On  June  I3th  the  admiral  steered  to  the  southeast,  and  having 
soon  sighted  the  splendid  island  now  known  as  the  Pines,  and 
famous  for  its  mahogany,  he  called  it  Evangelista.  Having 
anchored  and  taken  a  supply  of  wood  and  water,  he  steered  to 
the  south,  intending  to  seek  a  direct  route  by  open  sea  to  His- 


*  Brownson's  Tarducci,  vol.  L,  p.  328. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  291 

paniola  and  along  the  southern  shores  of  Jamaica.  But  the  fleet 
was  soon  landlocked  in  the  lagoon  of  Siguanca,  the  provisions 
were  nearly  exhausted,  the  men  dismayed  ;  so  he  immediately 
returned  and  endeavored  to  make  his  way  through  the  White 
Sea,  which  now  again  showed  portents  most  alarming  to  the 
sailors,  such  as  the  abrupt  changing  of  the  color  of  the  sea, 
which  was  at  one  time  green,  then  black,  and  now  as  white  as 
milk.  After  running  aground  and  injuring  his  ship,  which  had 
to  be  dragged  by  the  prow  over  the  shoal,  he  was  happy  when 
he  extricated  his  fleet  from  such  dangers.  Not  only  had  the 
waters  of  this  strange  archipelago  changed  their  color  without 
apparent  cause,  but  the  animal  kingdom,  in  the  deep,  clear 
waters  of  the  Cuban  coast,  had  presented  most  singular  changes  ; 
for  one  day  the  sea  was  almost  covered  with  tortoises,  on  another 
day  the  air  was  darkened  by  the  flight  of  cormorants  and  cranes, 
and  the  next  day  the  scene  was  obscured  by  clouds  of  butterflies, 
which  an  evening  shower  would  dispel.  On  July  6th  the  fleet 
neared  the  extremity  of  the  gulf  near  Cape  Santa  Cruz,  and  on 
the  /th  they  landed,  and  the  hungry  men  enjoyed  the  unstinted 
hospitality  of  the  cacique,  whose  subjects  brought  them  utias, 
birds,  cassava  bread,  and  delicious  fruits.  On  Sunday  the 
admiral  had  a  large  cross  planted,  and  mass  was  solemnly  cele 
brated.  Here  an  incident  occurred  which  goes  far  to  show  how 
impressible  the  Indians  were  in  their  religious  feelings,  and  how 
hopeful  the  effort  to  convert  them  to  Christianity  might  have 
been  had  the  cross  rather  than  the  sword  been  the  weapon  of 
the  white  man. 

An  aged  cacique  was  so  deeply  impressed  with  the  solemn 
mass  he  witnessed,  that  he  fully  entered  into  the  devotions  of 
these  celestial  worshippers,  and  he  and  his  people  evinced  the 
greatest  veneration  for  the  imposing  service.  After  the  admiral 
had  finished  his  thanksgiving  at  the  end  of  mass,  the  venerable 
chief  approached  him  with  salutations,  presented  him  with  a 
basket  of  finest  fruits,  and  talcing  a  seat  beside  him,  addressed 
him,  through  the  interpreter  Diego,  in  the  following  remarkable 
terms  :  "  It  is  meet  and  just  to  render  thanks  to  God  for  the 
blessings  He  vouchsafes  us.  It  appears  to  be  your  manner,  and 
that  of  your  people,  thus  to  render  Him  homage  ;  this  is  all  well. 
I  have  been  informed  that  some  time  ago  you  came  with  your 
forces  to  these  countries,  which  till  then  were  unknown.  Re- 


292  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

member,  I  beseech  and  implore  you,  that  the  souls  of  men,  on 
leaving  the  body,  enter  on  two  ways  :  one  leading  to  a  noisome 
and  dismal  place,  covered  with  darkness,  prepared  for  those  who 
have  been  unjust  and  cruel  to  their  fellow-men  ;  the  other, 
pleasant  and  delightful,  for  such  as  have  loved  and  promoted 
peace  among  men.  Beware,  then,  if  you  believe  yourself  to  be 
a  mortal  man,  of  doing  injury  to  anybody  ;  and  bear  in  mind  that 
everybody  will  be  rewarded  or  punished  according  to  his 
works."  * 

This  pious  Indian  was  moved  by  the  words  of  Columbus,  who 
assured  him  that  his  mission  to  the  west  was  one  of  peace  and 
justice,  of  subjugation  only  for  the  inhuman  Caribs,  and  to 
preach  the  Gospel  of  the  true  religion  and  of  peace.  Esteeming 
his  visitors  as  messengers  from  heaven,  the  good  cacique  was 
only  prevented  from  joining  the  Spaniards  by  the  prayers  and 
exhortations  of  his  wife  and  children.  The  Spaniards  remained 
on  this  coast  several  days,  took  in  provisions,  wood,  and  water, 
repaired  the  ship,  and  from  the  frequent  offerings  of  the  mass 
here  the  admiral  called  the  place  Rio  de  la  Misa. 

The  cacique  of  Rio  de  la  Misa  saw  with  sorrow  the  Spaniards 
depart  on  July  i6th  ;  his  counsel  and  advice  to  them,  inspired  as 
they  were  by  the  best  sentiments  of  natural  religion,  were  treasured 
by  the  admiral,  but  it  seems  from  subsequent  history  that  the 
Europeans,  in  their  intercourse  with  the  natives,  heeded  them  not. 
The  address  of  the  venerable  native  chief  sounds  in  our  ears  to 
this  day  like  the  last  appeal  of  a  doomed  race  to  the  justice  and 
mercy  of  their  Christian  conquerors.  Taking  with  him  a  young 
Indian  from  this  place,  and  steering  to  the  south,  he  avoided  the 
Queen's  Gardens,  and  directed  his  course  through  the  open  sea 
for  Jamaica  and  Hispaniola.  On  getting  clear  of  these  danger 
ous  islands  the  fleet  was  struck  by  a  violent  storm,  but  by  good 
and  prompt  handling  the  ships  were  saved  ;  but  when  at  length 
they  reached  Cape  Santa  Cruz,  the  admiral's  ship  was  greatly 
damaged.  On  July  22d  they  stood  for  Jamaica,  and  spent  nearly 
a  month  in  endeavoring  to  explore  its  coasts,  and  accepting  the 
hospitality  of  the  natives,  who  had  now  changed  their  former 
warlike  conduct  for  that  of  peace  and  friendship.  The  declara- 

*  Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  p.  298  ;  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  i., 
p.  426.  Other  works  containing  this  Indian  speech  are  Herrera,  "  Historia  del  Al- 
mirante,"  Peter  Martyr,  and  Cura  de  los  Palacios. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  293 

tions  of  the  admiral  that  the  Spaniards  would  break  the  power 
of  the  Caribs,  and  give  protection  to  the  peaceful  islanders,  en 
chained  their  attention  and  won  their  gratitude.  The  natives 
were  lavish  in  their  hospitality.  So  adverse  were  the  winds  that 
frequently,  on  anchoring  under  the  land  in  the  evening,  the 
admiral  found  himself  in  the  same  place  that  he  had  left  the  same 
morning.  So  beautiful  and  interesting  did  this  fine  island  appear, 
that  he  felt  strongly  inclined  to  devote  some  time  to  the  explo 
ration  of  its  interior ;  he  landed  frequently,  and  on  one  oc 
casion,  at  one  of  seven  islands  in  a  large  bay,  received  a  visit 
of  state  and  ceremony  from  the  cacique,  whose  people  occu 
pied  numerous  villages.  The  chief  was  attended  by  a  large 
and  imposing  retinue,  offered  refreshments  to  the  hungry  and 
tired  visitors,  inquired  minutely  concerning  the  Spaniards  and 
their  country,  and  expressed  special  curiosity  in  relation  to 
their  immense  ships.  Columbus,  through  the  Lucayan  inter 
preter,  impressed  the  chief  and  his  people  with  long  and  interest 
ing  accounts  of  the  power,  riches,  and  grandeur  of  Spain,  how 
many  countries  they  had  conquered,  how  many  others  they  had 
discovered,  and,  what  most  interested  the  natives,  how  he  had 
defied  and  defeated  the  Caribs  and  captured  many  of  their  fiercest 
warriors. 

On  the  following  morning  the  fleet  sailed,  but  an  unexpected 
detention  occurred.  The  chief,  accompanied  by  his  queen  and 
the  princesses,  his  two  daughters,  and  their  retinue  came  out  in 
three  large  and  handsomely  painted  and  carved  canoes,  and  in 
great  state,  to  visit  the  admiral  and  his  fleet.  In  the  centre  was 
the  largest  canoe,  bearing  the  chief  and  his  family,  and  in  its 
prow  stood  an  Indian  official  gayly  decked  in  mantle  and  helmet 
of  feathers,  with  painted  face,  and  bearing  in  his  hands  the  royal 
banner  of  white  ;  other  Indian  officials,  similarly  ornamented, 
played  on  tabors  ;  others  sounded  the  royal  trumpets  of  fine  black 
wood,  and  the  royal  family  had  a  body-guard  of  six  natives  in 
large  hats  of  white  feathers.  The  cacique  was  decked  in  full 
royal  dress,  consisting  of  a  band  of  variegated  stones  and  jewels 
around  his  head,  and  tastily  arranged,  and  containing  in  the 
centre  at  the  forehead  a  large  jewel  of  gold  ;  his  ears  had  two 
plates  of  gold  suspended  from  them  by  rings  of  green  stones  ; 
his  neck  was  encircled  by  a  necklace  of  rare  white  beads,  from 
which  hung  a  plate  of  inferior  gold  ;  and  around  his  waist  was 


294  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

a  girdle  studded  with  variegated  stones.  The  queen  was  simi 
larly  decorated,  and  wore  a  small  apron  of  cotton,  and  cotton 
bands  around  her  arms.  The  princesses  were  beautiful  in  figure 
and  countenance,  especially  the  elder,  who  was  about  eighteen 
years  old  ;  both  were  naked,  in  accordance  with  their  native 
custom,  and  they  wore  no  ornaments,  except  the  elder,  who  had 
on  a  girdle  of  small  stones,  from  which  hung  a  tablet  studded 
with  small  stones,  all  tastily  arranged  on  a  cotton  network.  All 
were  struck  with  the  modest  demeanor  of  the  princesses  ;  and 
when  the  visitors  were  on  board  the  admiral's  ship,  the  latter 
came  forth  from  his  devotions  to  receive  his  royal  guest,  and 
the  cacique  thus  addressed  him  in  terms  which  seemed  like  an 
invitation  from  the  natives  of  the  new  world  to  all  Christendom 
to  receive  them  as  fellow-creatures,  children  of  a  common  Father, 
as  members  of  one  human  society,  and  prospective  Christians  : 
"  My  friend,  I  have  determined  to  leave  my  country,  and  to 
accompany  thee.  I  have  heard  from  these  Indians  who  are  with 
thee  of  the  irresistible  power  of  thy  sovereigns,  and  of  the  many 
nations  thou  hast  subdued  in  their  name.  Whoever  refuses 
obedience  to  thee  is  sure  to  suffer.  Thou  hast  destroyed  the 
canoes  and  dwellings  of  the  Caribs,  slaying  their  warriors,  and 
carrying  into  captivity  their  wives  and  children.  All  the  islands 
are  in  dread  of  thee,  for  who  can  withstand  thee  now  that  thou 
knowest  the  secrets  of  the  land  and  the  weakness  of  the  people  ? 
Rather,  therefore,  than  thou  shouldst  take  away  my  dominions, 
I  will  embark  with  all  my  household  in  thy  ships,  and  will  go  to 
do  homage  to  thy  king  and  queen,  and  to  behold  their  country, 
of  which  thy  Indians  relate  such  wonders."  Columbus  was  too 
magnanimous  to  accept  the  proposition  of  the  good  cacique, 
when  he  thought  of  the  snares  and  deceptions  to  which  their 
innocence  and  simplicity  would  expose  them  in  a  Christian  and 
civilized  country — a  severe  but  honest  reflection  upon  the  more 
favored  portion  of  mankind.  He  soothed  the  disappointed  feel 
ings  of  his  royal  visitors,  and  succeeded  in  persuading  them  to 
return,  though  reluctantly,  to  their  own  country.  It  was  only 
a  question  of  time  how  soon  the  surrender  would  come  ! 

Columbus,  on  leaving  the  eastern  end  of  Jamaica,  called  it  Cape 
Farol,  though  now  known  as  Point  Morant,  and  taking  an  east 
erly  course,  he  next  day  saw  in  the  distance  the  long  peninsula 
of  Hispaniola  ;  he  called  it  Cape  San  Miguel,  but  it  is  now  known 


ON   COLUMBUS.       ,  295 

•as  Cape  Tiburon.  Not  knowing  then  that  he  was  off  the  island 
of  Hayti,  or  Jamaica,  he  became  aware  of  the  fact  in  a  most 
agreeable  way  when  a  cacique  coming  toward  his  ship  addressed 
him  in  Spanish,  "  Admiral,  admiral,  how  could  you  have  con 
jectured  that  this  cape  belonged  to  Hispaniola?"  These  words 
were  received  with  joy  by  all,  for  they  had  cruised  for  five  long 
and  dreary  months,  had  encountered  many  violent  storms,  and 
felt  the  exhaustion  and  fatigues  of  incessant  labor  and  the  pangs  of 
hunger  ;  for  not  only  the  men  and  officers  had  been  reduced  in 
their  rations  to  a  cracker  and  a  small  cup  of  wine,  but,  as  on  all 
other  occasions,  the  admiral  had  led  the  way  by  submitting  him 
self  first  of  all  to  the  same  privations  and  sufferings  that  his  com 
panions  had  to  endure.  Being  separated  from  his  two  ships, 
Columbus  tried  in  vain  to  sight  them  from  a  high  rock  near  Cape 
Beata,  which,  from  its  resemblance  to  a  large  ship,  he  called  Alto 
Velo.  After  the  caravels  had  joined  him,  he  continued  his  cruise 
along  the  coast  of  Hayti,  and  from  his  intercourse  with  the 
natives  he  learned  with  satisfaction  that  all  was  quiet  in  His 
paniola.  This  news  encouraged  and  justified  him,  though  ever- 
cautious,  after  he  had  sailed  some  distance  beyond  the  river 
Neyoa,  to  send  nine  men  across  the  country  on  foot  to  Isabella 
to  announce  his  arrival.  After  encountering  another  storm, 
witnessing  a  hostile  demonstration  from  the  Indians  of  the  east 
ern  end  of  the  island,  who  were  of  Carib  descent,  spending  eight 
days  in  the  shelter  under  a  small  island  to  which  he  gave  the 
name  of  Saona,  and  being  separated  again  during  the  storm  from 
his  caravels,  he  finally,  in  company  with  the  again  united  fleet, 
reached  the"  eastern  end  of  Hispaniola.  Thence  he  sailed  to  the 
southeast,  and  such  was  the  energy  and  courage  of  the  veteran 
explorer  and  discoverer,  that  even  now  he  felt  inclined  to  pro 
long  the  voyage  to  the  Caribbean  Islands,  and  perhaps  attempt 
their  subjugation.  But  he  was  exhausted  both  in  mind  and  body 
by  the  labors,  privations,  and  anxieties  of  this  protracted  voyage, 
by  alternate  hopes  of  realizing  the  discovery  of  the  Continent  of 
Asia,  and  of  discovering  countries  rich  in  gold  and  spices,  and 
by  the  disappointments  and  comparatively  small  results  of  such 
brave  efforts.  His  crews  were  exhausted  also,  and  anxious  to 
return  to  Isabella.  He  had  actually  reached  a  point  on  the 
island  of  Cuba  whence  a  boy  from  the  masthead  could  have 
distinctly  seen  the  open  sea  on  the  other  side  of  the  island,  and 


296  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

thus  have  solved  the  all-important  question  ;  but  it  was  at  this 
point  that  the  fleet  reversed  its  course,  and  all  acquiesced  in  the 
theory  that  they  had  reached  the  extremity  of  Asia.  Excitement 
and  ambition  had  sustained  the  admiral  through  the  vicissitudes 
of  this  expedition  ;  but  now,  this  stimulus  being  removed  by  his 
near  approach  to  home,  his  whole  being,  with  all  its  mental, 
moral,  and  physical  faculties  relapsed,  and  his  mind  and  body  fell 
into  a  singular  and  profound  lethargy. 

This  remarkable  phenomenon  of  human  nature  is  spoken  of  by 
the  eulogist  of  Columbus,  the  Count  de  Lorgues,  in  the  follow 
ing  earnest  language  :  "  It  was  just  five  months  since  he  had 
departed  from  Hispaniola.  For  a  hundred  and  fifty  consecutive 
days  his  study  of  nature,  his  examination  of  waters  and  soils,  his 
contemplation  of  the  wonderful  works  of  God,  his  efforts  to  rec 
oncile  with  each  other  the  contradictory  statements  of  the  natives 
to  attain  some  geographical  verity,  and  his  prolonged  struggle 
against  the  elements,  maintaining  his  soul,  his  intellect,  his  body, 
in  triple  activity,  exhausted  all  his  forces.  The  feeling  of  his 
responsibility,  and  the  necessity  of  constantly  directing  the  navi 
gation  in  person  himself,  were  too  much  for  his  age,  his  infirmi 
ties,  his  want  of  nourishment,  and  his  privation  of  sleep.  All  his 
organs  became  simultaneously  torpid.  His  brain,  as  well  as  his 
eyes  and  his  limbs,  yielded  to  fatigues  that  surpassed  human 
endurance.  There  was  a  total  suspension  of  all  his  physical  and 
moral  faculties.  It  was  a  state  of  complete  lethargy.  Were  it 
not  for  the  pulsation  of  his  arteries,  the  flexibility  of  his  members, 
one  would  have  believed  his  sublime  soul  had  returned  to  its 
Creator."* 

Mr.  Irving  mentions  the  same  singular  event  in  the  following- 
language  :  "  The  very  day  on  which  he  sailed  from  Mona  he 
was  struck  with  a  sudden  malady  which  deprived  him  of  memory, 
of  sight,  and  of  all  his  faculties.  He  fell  into  a  deep  lethargy, 
resembling  death  itself.  His  crew,  alarmed  at  this  profound 
torpor,  feared  that  death  was  really  at  hand.  They  abandoned, 
therefore,  all  further  prosecution  of  the  voyage,  and  spreading 
their  sails  to  the  east  wind,  so  prevalent  in  those  seas,  bore 
Columbus  back  in  a  state  of  complete  insensibility  to  the  harbor 
of  Isabella,  "f 

*  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  by  Dr.  Barry,  p.  302. 
f  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol  i.,  p.  437. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  297 

The  colony  at  Isabella  saw  with  joy  the  good  ship  Santa  Clara 
enter  the  port  on  September  29th,  1494.  They  had  not  heard 
any  tidings  of  the  fleet  that  sailed  out  five  months  before,  under 
the  admiral,  to  discover  and  explore  regions  of  the  earth  then  as 
unknown  to  civilized  man  as  America  had  been  before  Columbus 
discovered  it.  They  had  feared  that  the  admiral  had  fallen  a 
victim  to  his  great  enterprising  spirit  and  indomitable  courage, 
and  had  perished  in  his  great  adventure.  But  now  the  chief, 
after  five  days  and  nights  of  a  death-like  lethargy,  was  aroused 
to  consciousness  by  the  once  familiar  and  ever-affectionate  voice 
of  his  brother  Bartholomew.  His  brother  Diego  also  was  there, 
and  from  his  arrival  attended  at  his  bedside  with  untiring  care 
and  tenderness. 

Columbus  had  not  seen  or  heard  from  Bartholomew  for  eight 
years,  and  these  were  years  of  unparalleled  eventfulness.  Hav 
ing  sent  him  to  England  to  make  proposals  for  a  voyage  of 
western  discovery,  on  the  occasion  of  his  own  visit  to  Portugal, 
in  1485,  Columbus,  in  the  mean  time,  as  we  have  related,  secured 
the  patronage  of  Spain.  On  his  voyage  to  England,  Bartholo 
mew  Columbus  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  corsair,  and  plundered  of 
all  he  possessed,  he  was  compelled,  like  his  brother  at  one  time, 
to  support  himself  by  making  charts  and  marine  maps.  It  has 
already  been  mentioned  that  he  had  made  a  voyage  to  the  coast 
of  Africa  under  Bartholomew  Diaz,  in  1486,  in  the  service  of  the 
King  of  Portugal,  and  thus  participated  in  the  discovery  of  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  His  brother  Christopher  had  met  him  in 
Lisbon  in  1485.  It  was  not  until  1493  that  he  succeeded  in  reach 
ing  the  English  court  and  laying  his  brother's  proposals  before 
Henry  VII.  It  is  well  worthy  of  note,  and  certainly  much  to 
the  credit  and  honor  of  the  English  king,  that  he  was  pleased 
from  the  beginning  with  the  plans  ot  Columbus.  It  did  not  re 
quire  long  and  tedious  years  of  entreaty  and  waiting  to  bring 
that  sovereign's  mind  to  a  conviction,  as  had  been  the  case  with 
Portugal  and  Spain.  Bartholomew  acquitted  himself  so  well  of 
his  mission  that  Henry  VII.  actually  welcomed  the  project,  and 
entered  into  a  preliminary  treaty  on  the  subject.  It  was  while 
he  was  hurrying  from  England  to  Spain,  as  the  bearer  of  these 
negotiations,  that  Bartholomew  heard  at  Paris  of  the  discovery 
of  the  new  world  by  his  brother,  Christopher  Columbus,  and  of 
his  return  and  triumphal  reception  by  the  Spanish  sovereigns. 


298  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

The  very  name  of  Columbus  had  now  already  become  famous 
throughout  the  world.  Charles  VIII.,  King  of  France,  was  his 
first  informant  of  his  brother's  great  achievement,  and  of  his 
elevation  to  the  position  of  admiral  and  viceroy.  That  sover 
eign  paid  him  distinguished  honor,  and  presented  him  with  a 
hundred  gold  crowns  for  defraying  his  traveling  expenses 
through  France.  He  arrived  at  Seville  not  long  after  the  de 
parture  of  the  admiral  on  his  second  voyage.  He  thence  visited 
his  sister-in-law,  Donna  Beatrix  Enriquez,  at  Cordova,  where 
the  admiral's  sons,  Diego  and  Fernando,  were  at  school,  and 
brought  them  to  court,  where  they  were  all  received  with  kind 
ness  and  distinction.  The  queen  retained  the  youths  at  court, 
and  had  every  pains  taken  to  prepare  them  for  their  functions  as 
pages  to  Prince  Juan.  The  keen  eye  of  King  Ferdinand  imme 
diately  detected  the  sterling  qualities  of  Bartholomew  Columbus 
and  his  experiences  as  a  veteran  navigator,  and,  having  bestowed 
upon  him  letters  of  nobility,  gave  him  the  command  of  three 
ships  destined  to  carry  provisions  to  Hispaniola. 

But  on  arriving  at  Isabella  he  again  missed  the  admiral,  who 
had  not  long  before  sailed  on  his  expedition  to  Cuba.  This 
faithful  brother  became  an  important  actor  in  the  future  events 
and  history  of  the  western  countries.  He  was  a  man  of  true 
worth.  He  was  candid  and  truthful,  prompt  to  decide  and 
prompt  to  execute,  capable,  fearless,  and  resolute.  While  his 
manners  and  address  were  austere,  and  even  at  times  somewhat 
abrupt,  his  generosity  was  unbounded  ;  he  was  above  malice  or 
resentment  ;  brave  beyond  fear,  and  accessible.  His  brother 
Diego,  on  the  other  hand,  was  gentle,  mild,  and  sympathetic  ; 
as  devout  as  a  recluse,  studious,  retiring,  and  inexperienced  in 
affairs  ;  and  even  in  his  dress  he  resembled  a  monk  rather  than 
a  man  of  the  world.  But  for  the  wish  of  the  admiral,  who  was 
the  recognized  head  of  the  family,  he  would  have  retired  to  a 
cloister  or  have  become  a  man  of  study  and  letters.  The  admiral 
having  but  two  brothers  available,  regarded  their  personal  ser 
vices  and  counsels  as  necessary  to  his  great  undertakings.  While 
Christopher  and  Diego  were  men  of  religious  sentiments  and 
devout  lives,  Bartholomew,  while  a  good  and  earnest  Christian, 
was  a  man  of  the  world,  and  a  master  of  men  and  of  affairs. 

The  cheerful  and  reassuring  influences  of  the  society  of  his 
two  devoted  brothers  soon  restored  Columbus  to  his  accustomed 


ON  COLUMBUS.  299 

health  and  spirits.  Feeling  the  necessity  of  some  one  to  share 
with  him  the  onerous  and  unceasing  cares  of  administration  and 
of  responsibility,  he  appointed  Bartholomew  to  the  high  and 
responsible  position  of  Adelantado,  an  office  resembling  that  of 
lieutenant-governor.  The  advices  from  the  court  and  the  gen 
eral  tenor  of  the  information  brought  out  by  his  brother  greatly 
consoled  Columbus  for  his  sacrifices  and  sufferings,  and  stimu 
lated  his  zeal  to  continue  the  humane  course  adopted  toward  the 
Indians,  his  labors  for  the  good  of  his  sovereigns  and  his  country, 
and  for  the  success  and  permanence  of  his  great  enterprise. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  admiral  received  further  advices 
from  the  Spanish  sovereigns  of  high  importance,  and  of  great 
encouragement  and  support  to  him — advices  showing  how  fully 
he  possessed  the  confidence  and  sympathy  of  the  Spanish  rulers. 
Antonio  Torres  arrived  with  four  ships  loaded  with  provisions, 
refreshments,  medicines,  clothing,  and  merchandise.  The  ships 
also  brought  out  a  physician  and  an  apothecary,  besides  me 
chanics,  millers,  fishermen,  gardeners  and  farmers  ;  and  the  queen 
did  not  fail  to  show  her  delicate  regard  for  her  admiral  in  pro 
viding  especially  for  his  comfort  and  for  the  dignity  of  his  office. 
The  letters  which  Torres  brought  out,  and  which  were  dated 
August  1 6th,  1494,  conveyed  the  most  satisfactory  and  comfort 
ing  accounts  of  the  feelings  entertained  by  the  sovereigns  toward 
himself  and  his  enterprise  ;  they  assured  him  of  their  entire  satis 
faction  with  his  conduct,  informing  him  that  his  representations 
and  engagements  had  all  been  fulfilled,  and  showing  the  greatest 
deference  for  him  and  his  judgment  in  requesting  him  to  come 
to  Spain  and  take  part  in  the  deliberations  going  on  between 
Spain  and  Portugal  in  relation  to  their  respective  discoveries 
and  dominions,  and  to  assist  the  same  by  his  counsel ;  or,  in  case 
he  could  not  come,  then  to  send  his  brother,  Don  Bartholomew, 
or  some  other  competent  and  trusty  person,  to  whom  he  would 
communicate  his  views  and  suggestions.  The  sovereigns  ex 
pressed  in  their  letters  the  highest  interest  in  the  colony,  and 
adopting  it  as  a  permanent  and  favorite  measure  of  the  crown, 
arranged  for  a  monthly  passage  or  communication  between  His- 
paniola  and  the  mother  country.  All  the  admiral's  appointments 
to  office  were  confirmed,  all  persons  in  the  colony  were  com 
manded  to  obey  him  and  sustain  his  administration,  and  orders 
were  given  the  bureaucratic  Director-General  of  Marine  to  provide 


300  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

all  that  was  needed  for  the  colony.  Every  solicitude  was  shown, 
especially  by  the  queen,  for  imparting  the  Christian  religion  to 
the  natives,  and  a  special  letter  was  written  to  Father  Boil, 
urging  his  zeal  to  activity,  stimulating  that  missionary  to  exer 
tion  for  this  great  end,  and  encouraging  him  to  overcome  the 
difficulties  of  the  Indian  language.  A  personal  letter  from  the 
queen  to  Columbus,  dated  August  i6th,  1494,  as  the  Count  de 
Lorgues  writes,  "  was  particularly  calculated  to  console  the 
admiral,  and  refresh  his  soul  with  its  sweet  sympathies."  *  As 
the  admiral  was  aware  that  the  tongue  of  detraction  had  already 
begun  its  efforts  to  undermine  his  influence  and  standing  at  court, 
these  just  and  noble  communications  and  commendations  from 
his  sovereigns  went  far  to  sustain  his  efforts  for  the  glory  and 
aggrandizement  of  his  adopted  country. 

Columbus  was  prompt  in  making  due  acknowledgments  of 
the  royal  missive  which  had  been  received  in  the  colonies,  and 
in  defending  himself  and  his  administration  from  the  aspersions 
of  his  enemies.  He  would  have  returned  to  Spain  himself  to 
make  his  own  vindication  in  person,  but  he  was  in  too  feeble  a 
state  of  health  to  undertake  the  voyage,  and  his  brother,  Don 
Bartholomew,  was  needed  now  more  than  ever  in  the  then  dis 
tracted  state  of  the  colony,  which  we  are  now  about  to  relate,  to 
manage  and  direct  affairs  with  his  strong  arm  and  resolute  will. 
He  therefore  sent  his  brother,  Don  Diego,  who,  besides  the 
many  other  commissions  he  received  from  the  admiral,  was 
specially  charged  with  communicating  the  admiral's  views  in 
relation  to  the  geographical  line  which  was  destined  to  separate 
the  dominions  of  Spain  and  Portugal  from  each  other.  It  was 
thus  that  he  hastened  the  return  of  the  ships  to  Spain  under 
Torres,  bearing  not  only  the  most  convincing  proofs  of  the  value 
of  the  great  discovery  he  had  made,  but  also  carrying  all  the 
gold  he  could  collect,  besides  specimens  of  other  useful  and 
valuable  metals,  of  the  fruits  and  plants  of  the  new  world,  and 
other  proofs  of  the  riches  of  the  western  islands. 

But  there  was  one  portion  of  the  return  cargo  which  Columbus 
sent  to  Spain  which  has  been  made  the  subject  of  animadversion 
on  the  part  of  some  historians,  and  of  excuse  or  extenuation  on 


*  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  by  Dr.  Barry,  p.  313  ;  "  Documentos  Diplomaticos,'* 
Num.  Ixxx.  ;  Mufios,  "  Historia  del  Nuevo  Mundo,"  lib.  iv.,  §  24. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  30! 

the  part  of  others.  Anxious  to  make  as  valuable  and  remuner 
ative  a  return  to  his  sovereigns  for  their  great  outlays  in  the  new 
world  as  possible,  he  sent  back  in  the  fleet  under  Torres  about 
five  hundred  Indian  prisoners,  who,  in  accordance  with  the  prac 
tice  of  the  age  and  country,  were  intended  to  be  sold  into  slavery  in 
order  to  reimburse  the  royal  exchequer.  Mr.  Irving  has  justly  said 
that  "  it  is  painful  to  find  the  brilliant  renown  of  Columbus  sullied 
by  so  foul  a  stain.  The  customs  of  the  times,  however,  must  be 
pleaded  in  his  apology."  Then,  after  giving  instances  wherein 
Spain  or  Portugal  had  indulged  in  the  traffic  in  slaves,  either  in 
Africa  or  in  the  wars  against  the  Moors  in  Spain,  he  says  : 

'  These  circumstances  are  not  advanced  to  vindicate,  but  to  pal 
liate  the  conduct  of  Columbus.  He  acted  but  in  conformity  to 
the  customs  of  the  times,  and  was  sanctioned  by  the  example  of 
the  sovereigns  under  whom  he  served."*  The  Count  de 
Lorgues,  however,  mentions  this  circumstance  in  a  different 
light,  and  says  :  "  As  the  ships  brought  by  Torres  contained  a 
large  number  of  rebel  Indian  prisoners,  captured  with  arms  in 
their  hands,  Don  Juan  de  Fonseca  received  orders  to  have  them 
sold  in  the  markets  of  Andalusia."  And  again  :  "  Although  an 
ordinance  had  been  expedited  for  the  sale  of  the  prisoners,  ac 
cording  to  the  custom  that  then  prevailed  in  regard  to  infidels 
and  idolaters,  still  a  scruple  arose  in  the  mind  of  Isabella.  The 
enterprise  of  the  discovery  having,  as  a  prime  object,  the  con 
version  of  natives  who  did  not  know  Christ,  the  queen  consid 
ered  within  herself  whether  she  should  not  treat  these  people  as 
future  children  of  the  Church,  and  whether  it  was  not  contrary 
to  the  Gospel  to  enslave  them  ?  She  commanded  that  the  pris 
oners  should  be  carried  back  to  Hispaniola,  and  all  set  free,  with 
the  exception  of  nine,  who  were  destined  by  the  admiral  to  serve 
as  interpreters,  and  who  were  to  remain  some  time  in  Castile  to 
learn  the  language."  f  But  Las  Casas,  the  illustrious  Bishop  of 
Chiapa,  who  was  the  defender  of  the  natural  rights  of  the  Indians, 
and  the  untiring  opponent  of  the  unjust  policy  of  enslaving  them, 
also  excuses  or  palliates  the  action  of  Columbus  on  this  occasion. 

"  If,"  says  he,  "  those  pious  and  learned  men,  whom  the  sover 
eigns  took  for  guides  and  instructors,  were  so  ignorant  of  the 


*  Irving's  "  Columbus."  vol.  ii.,  p.  40. 

f  Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  p.  330. 


302  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

injustice  of  this  practice,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  unlettered 
admiral  should  not  be  conscious  of  its  impropriety."  * 

Having  in  a  previous  page  mentioned  that  Ojeda  was  left  in 
command  of  Fort  St.  Thomas,  and  that  Margarite  had  set  forth 
with  the  army  to  make  an  exploration  and  military  reconnoissance 
of  the  interior  of  the  island  of  Hispaniola,  it  now  remains  to  re 
late  how  a  Spanish  soldier  and  gentleman  by  birth  disgraced  his 
profession  and  dishonored  his  birthright.  So  also  it  has  been 
mentioned  that  Father  Boil's  lukewarmness  as  a  missionary  had 
demoralized  the  missions,  and  his  disloyalty  to  his  civil  governor 
had  fomented  disaffection  in  the  colony.  It  is  sad,  even  at  this 
remote  day,  to  record  in  our  pages  how  so  high  an  ecclesiastic 
finally  deserted  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  which  he  had  been 
sent  to  till.  These  two  unworthies  naturally  made  common 
cause,  and  added  to  their  misconduct  the  base  crime  of  slander 
against  their  civil  governor  and  commander. 

The  exalted  and  well-considered  instructions  which  Columbus 
gave  to  Margarite  on  leaving  Isabella  for  the  exploration  of  the 
island  of  Cuba,  if  observed,  would  have  sufficed  to  pilot  the 
affairs  of  Hispaniola  in  peace  and  prosperity  ;  but  that  soldier 
reversed  in  his  conduct  every  order  he  received  from  his  com 
mander.  He  did  not  commence  by  exploring  the  rugged  moun 
tains  of  Cibao,  as  the  admiral  had  ordered,  but  he  preferred  to 
loiter  and  luxuriate  in  the  generous  and  bountiful  hospitality  of 
the  Vega.  Yielding,  besides,  to  unbridled  sensuality,  discipline 
was  relaxed,  debauchery  and  riot  prevailed  throughout  the  army, 
and  the  commander,  his  officers,  and  his  soldiers,  instead  of  hold 
ing  the  veneration  of  the  natives  as  visitors  from  heaven,  won 
and  deserved  their  contempt  and  hatred  as  common  ruffians. 
The  provisions  of  the  villages  were  wantonly  consumed  and 
wasted,  supplies  became  scarce,  and  were  justly  withheld  by  the 
Indians.  The  Spaniards  ruthlessly  seized  what  they  wanted, 
without  the  honesty  of  making  compensation.  The  lust  for  gold 
led  to  countless  acts  of  what  the  statutes  of  civilized  countries 
call  robbery,  and  the  lust  for  women  led  to  the  most  outrageous 
acts  of  injustice,  insult,  and  oppression.  The  guests  of  late  now 
became  the  masters  and  oppressors  of  the  land.  A  letter  of 
reprimand  and  orders  to  proceed  in  his  reconnoissance  of  the 


*  Las  Casas,  "  Historia  Ind.,"  torn,  i.,  cap.  122,  MS. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  303 

island,  as  directed  by  the  admiral,  which  he  received  from  Don 
Diego  Columbus  and  the  council  at  Isabella,  was  treated  by  this 
proud  outlaw  as  an  insult  to  a  Spanish  gentleman  of  ancient 
lineage,  and  in  this  he  was  sustained  by  the  proud  hidalgos  and 
cavaliers  and  by  the  adventurers  of  the  colony.  This  was  an 
unpardonable  affront  to  a  Spanish  gentleman  from  a  foreigner 
and  an  upstart.  These  vicious  elements  now  combined  together, 
not  only  against  the  authority  of  the  lieutenant-governor  and 
council,  but  also  against  the  government  of  the  absent  viceroy. 
So  far  from  restraining  their  excesses,  when  admonished  by  Don 
Diego  and  the  council,  Margarite  and  his  soldiers,  as  Count  de 
Lorgues  remarks,  ' '  considered  that  they  did  the  Indians  much 
honor  in  taking  from  them  their  wives,  their  provisions  and  their 
gold,  and  in  consuming  in  some  days  the  provisions  that  would 
have  sufficed  for  the  Indians  the  third  of  a  year."  Margarite 
actually  cast  off  all  authority,  and  acted  as  though  he  were  the 
superior  of  the  lieutenant-governor  and  the  council.  He  went 
to  Isabella  and  departed  whenever  it  suited  him,  and  took  no 
notice  of  Don  Diego  Columbus  or  of  the  council.  After  spread 
ing  ruin  in  the  Royal  Vega  and  among  its  inhabitants,  he  re 
paired  to  Isabella,  and  there  formed  a  cabal,  of  which  the  dissi 
pated  and  arrogant  cavaliers  were  members.  He  and  his  con 
federates  found  a  welcome  colleague  in  Father  Boil,  and  they 
concerted  together  to  seize  the  ships  which  Bartholomew  Colum 
bus  had  brought  out,  and  return  to  Spain  ;  the  one  deserting  his 
post,  the  other  abandoning  his  flock.  Having  taken  possession 
of  the  ships,  Margarite  and  Father  Boil  sailed  for  Spain,  hoping 
to  justify  their  misconduct  through  their  influence  at  court,  and 
that  of  Bishop  Fonseca,  and  by  maligning  the  characters  and 
administration  of  Columbus  and  his  brothers.  Margarite  is  sup 
posed  to  have  dreaded  the  return  of  the  admiral  from  Cuba,  and 
the  punishment  he  so  justly  deserved  ;  and  he  is  thought  also  to 
have  desired  relief,  through  medical  aid  in  Spain,  for  a  loath 
some  disease  brought  on  by  his  excessive  lusts,  and  which  was 
then  new  and  comparatively  unknown.  That  Columbus,  so 
marked  by  his  respect  to  the  clergy,  s.hould  have  incurred,  in  the 
conscientious  discharge  of  his  duty,  the  unjust  animosity  of  one 
so  prominent  and  influential  as  Father  Boi'l,  was  a  severe  incre 
ment  to  his  load  of  sorrows.  But  if,  in  the  necessities  of  the 
colony,  he  was  the  first  to  impose  upon  himself  the  regimen  of 


304  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

short  rations,  surely  the  example  of  the  chief  pastor  of  the  colony 
was  indispensable  to  the  success  of  the  rule.  But  unfortunately 
Father  Boil  thought  differently,  and  hence  his  resentment, 
already  kindled  by  the  admiral's  humane  treatment  of  the  natives, 
now  culminated  in  open  rebellion.  Their  calumnies  at  court 
met  with  support  from  Fonseca  and  other  unworthy  officials  and 
enemies  of  Columbus,  and  received  reinforcement  from  proud 
and  offended  cavaliers  and  hidalgos  and  their  relatives  at  home. 
As  Mr.  Irving  writes,  "  The  first  general  and  apostle  of  the 
new  world  thus  setting  the  flagrant  example  of  unauthorized 
abandonment  of  their  posts."  And  the  Count  de  Lorgues  says  : 
'  They  thus  schemed  their  departure,  seized  on  some  vessels 
that  were  anchored  in  the  port,  and  basely  fled  as  true  deserters. 
Several  religious,  whom  the  attraction  of  novelty  induced  to 
follow  Father  Boil  to  the  Indies,  not  being  able  to  become  used 
to  a  mode  of  life  for  which  they  were  not  destined,  followed 
him  in  his  cowardly  desertion."  This  zealous  and  intelligent 
writer  attributes  this  sad  result  to  the  fact  that  Father  Boil  was 
not,  in  fact,  the  one  selected  by  the  Church  or  the  Pope  for  this 
mission,  but  by  accident  or  intrigue,  as  already  related,  he  was 
substituted  for  the  Franciscan  Father  Boyle. 

In  deserting  his  command,  Margarite  did  not  even  designate 
another  to  take  his  place,  and  the  army  lost  all  organization, 
became  split  up  into  bands  of  marauders,  plunderers,  and 
seducers,  depriving  the  natives  of  their  property,  their  homes, 
and  their  wives.  Even  these  outrages  were  accompanied  with 
unnecessary  and  wanton  cruelties  and  insults.  The  poor  Indians 
had  submitted  to  every  wrong  from  their  celestial  guests,  but 
now,  seeing  the  power  of  the  Spaniards  broken  by  their  dis 
organization  and  divisions,  and  resenting  the  wrongs  they  had 
heaped  on  them,  the  hospitality  of  hosts  became  converted  into 
a  bitter  and  relentless  hatred.  Vengeance  took  the  place  of 
friendship.  The  fortress  of  La  Navidad  had  been  destroyed — 
why  might  not  that  of  St.  Thomas  be  wiped  out  ? 

The  Carib  chief,  Caonabo,  was  the  most  inveterate  enemy  ot 
the  Spaniards,  and  now  the  Kings  of  Xaragua,  of  Higuey,  and 
of  the  Vega  united  with  the  fierce  chief  of  Maguana  in  a  con 
spiracy  to  destroy  the  Spaniards  and  free  the  island  from  these 
cruel  and  oppressive  foes.  The  mild  and  gentle  Guacanagari. 
suspected  by  them  to  be  friendly  to  the  Spaniards,  was  not  taken 


ON   COLUMBUS.  305 

into  the  alliance,  and  he  was  treated  as  an  enemy  of  his  country. 
Endeavoring  to  supply  the  place  of  arms  and  skill  by  numbers, 
Caonabo  appeared  before  Fort  St.  Thomas  with  ten  thousand 
naked  warriors,  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  clubs  and  lances 
hardened  with  fire.  Having  reconnoitred  the  fort,  he  expected 
to  take  it  by  surprise,  by  a  secret  march  through  the  forests  ;  he 
had,  no  doubt,  taken  a  leading  part  in  the  massacre  of  the  garrison 
of  Fort  La  Navidad.  But  Alonzo  de  Ojeda  was  a  foe  such  as 
Indian  hordes  and  unclad  warriors  had  never  encountered.  He 
was  vigilant  and  wily,  brave  and  fearless,  profoundly  versed  and 
practised  in  all  the  arts  and  stratagems  of  war.  He  was  intrepid 
and  resistless  in  the  open  field,  headlong  in  violent  warfare  ;  he 
was  subtle  in  feints  and  ambuscades,  and,  whenever  he  was 
•engaged  in  hostilities  with  the  heathen,  he  was  inspired  with 
extraordinary  religious  zeal  and  apparently  supernatural  motive 
and  courage.  A  veteran  in  Moorish  .campaigns,  he  had  never 
received  a  wound,  and  now  it  seemed  to  him  and  to  his  fol 
lowers  that  he  was  under  a  special  heavenly  protection,  and  was 
invulnerable.  His  exploits  had  been  recorded  in  many  a  mar 
vellous  chronicle  of  prowess,  and  even  his  personal  strength,  so 
•out  of  all  proportion  to  his  small  stature,  inspired  unwonted 
terror,  and  achieved  prodigious  feats  of  valor  and  success.  So 
thorough  a  soldier  could  not  be  taken  at  disadvantage  by  barbar 
ous  foes.  The  cautious  and  wily  Caonabo  was  surprised,  after 
his  secret  march  through  the  dense  forests,  on  arriving  at  the 
fort,  to  find  the  Spanish  chieftain  at  the  head  of  his  garrison 
drawn  up  in  the  tower,  sharply  watchful  and  ready  for  the  fray. 
The  fortress  was  by  its  location  well  fortified  also  by  nature. 

Assault  by  untutored  savage  warriors  was  fruitless,  and 
Caonabo  resorted  to  a  siege  in  order  to  reduce  his  formidable 
foes  by  starvation.  Skilfully  distributing  his  men  through  the 
neighboring  forests,  and  occupying  every  approach  to  the  fort, 
the  cacique  and  his  colleagues,  in  a  siege  of  thirty  days,  reduced 
the  Spaniards  to  the  point  of  starvation.  But  Ojeda  and  his 
veterans  displayed  prodigies  of  valor,  and  by  dauntless  sorties 
and  reckless  attacks,  from  day  to  day,  decimated  the  ranks  of 
the  dusky  besiegers  ;  and  while  every  Spanish  soldier  killed  his 
dozens,  their  intrepid  leader  slew  with  his  own  arm  and  trusty 
weapon  still  greater  numbers  of  the  undisciplined  foes.  The 
Indians  were  appalled  at  seeing  their  arrows  fall  harmless  at  the 


306  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

feet  of  the  invulnerable  commander  of  the  fort.  They  were  un 
used  to  such  continued  military  service  as  they  were  then  under 
going,  and  the  undisciplined  ranks  of  the  cacique  were  thinned 
by  daily  returns  of  his  subjects  and  allies  to  their  homes.  Caonabo 
conceived  an  unbounded  wonder  and  admiration  for  Ojeda.  He 
was  forced  to  yield  the  struggle  to  so  dauntless  a  foe.  He  now 
began  to  bethink  him  of  other  and  more  promising  efforts  to 
destroy  the  hated  invaders  of  his  domains. 

An  incident  is  here  related  in  Spanish-American  chronicles  to 
illustrate  the  generous  and  heroic  character  of  Ojeda  in  this 
noted  siege.  While  the  garrison  was  so  severely  pressed  for 
food,  a  friendly  Indian  found  a  way  of  entering  the  tower, 
bringing  with  him  a  pair  of  pigeons  as  a  present  to  Ojeda  ;  but 
that  gallant  chieftain  saw  how  his  comrades  eyed  with  languish 
ing  and  hungry  eyes  those  rare  and  delicious  birds.  He  received 
them  from  the  hands  of  tfce  Indian  only  to  give  them  flight  and 
liberty  from  a  window  of  the  tower,  and  turning  to  his  men,  he 
said  :  "  It  is  a  pity  that  here  is  not  enough  to  give  us  all  a  meal, 
but  I  cannot  consent  to  feast  while  the  rest  of  you  are  starving." 

Returning  with  disappointment  and  wounded  pride  from  his 
disastrous  attack  on  Fort  St.  Thomas,  Caonabo  made  a  secret 
reconnoissance  of  the  city  of  Isabella,  and  thought  how  easy  it 
would  be  for  the  natives  in  countless  hordes  to  rush  upon  and 
annihilate  the  feeble  colony.  So  exasperated  were  the  Indians 
throughout  the  island  at  the  wrongs  they  had  endured  at  the 
hands  of  Margarite,  that  the  Kings  of  Xaragua,  Higuey,  and 
the  Vega  came  readily  into  his  proposals  for  a  military  alliance, 
having  for  its  object  the  extirpation  of  the  Spaniards.  They  were 
zealously  supported  by  their  respective  tribes.  Now  was  the 
time  for  Guacanagari,  the  suspected  cacique  of  Marien  and  the 
trusted  friend  of  Columbus,  to  prove  the  truth  or  falsehood  of 
the  charges  against  his  loyalty  and  friendship  for  the  admiral 
and  his  people.  This  chief  was  equally  suspected  of  disloyalty 
to  their  cause  by  the  other  Indian  kings,  and  when  his  alliance 
was  now  sought  by  them  for  a  united  attack  upon  the  Spaniards, 
he  refused  to  join  them.  He  continued  in  his  own  dominions  to 
resist  their  entreaties  and  threats,  and  though  greatly  impover 
ished,  he  entertained  and  fed  one  hundred  Spanish  soldiers  quar 
tered  upon  him  with  cheerful  and  unstinted  hospitality.  His 
loyalty  to  the  Spaniards  was  fully  vindicated,  and  now  gave 


ON   COLUMBUS.  307 

comfort  to  his  friend,  the  admiral,  in  the  midst  of  his  cares  and 
growing  adversities.  The  three  allied  chiefs  turned  their  resent 
ment  upon  Guacanagari,  and  now  Caonabo  and  his  brother-in- 
law,  Behechio,  invaded  his  dominions,  killing  one  of  his  wives, 
the  beautiful  Catalina,  who  had  fled  to  his  side  from  the  Gracious 
Mary  by  casting  herself  into  the  water  and  swimming  ashore,  car 
rying  another  into  captivity,  and  inflicting  upon  him«many  wrongs 
and  outrages.  He  stood  faithful  to  the  admiral,  and  while  his  do 
minions  presented  a  barrier  between  the  Spanish  settlement  and  its 
gathering  foes,  his  friendly  tribe  assisted  the  Spaniards  all  in  their 
power.  The  cacique  Guatiguana,  on  the  other  hand,  massacred 
ten  Spaniards  who  were  on  the  banks  of  the  Grand  River,  and 
burned  the  hospital  building,  containing  forty  patients  and  con 
valescents,  while  the  Spaniards  were  killed  in  other  parts  of  the 
island. 

The  faithful  Guacanagari  lost  no  time  in  seeking  the  admiral, 
who  was  still  on  his  bed  of  sickness,  and  who  even  there  had 
received  tidings  of  an  unpleasant  character  in  relation  to  the 
movements  of  the  other  caciques.  Accounts  of  the  misconduct 
of  Margarite  and  his  men,  and  of  the  consequent  enmity  and 
hostile  movements  and  plots  of  the  caciques,  reached  him  from 
every  quarter.  Instead  of  remaining  at  their  posts  of  duty,  the 
commander  of  the  army  and  the  superior  of  the  missions  had 
deserted  the  scenes  of  danger  and  disorder,  of  which  they  had 
been  instigators  ;  had  gone  to  court  falsely  to  throw  upon  the 
admiral  the  blame  of  disasters  which  they  had  conspicuously 
caused,  and  to  malign  him  whom  they  had  already  wronged, 
instead  of  remaining  to  repair  the  injuries  inflicted  upon  the 
island  by  their  own  misconduct.* 

The  trusting  nature  of  Columbus,  more  than  ever  conspicuous 
in  such  trials,  felt  consolation  in  the  now  vindicated  loyalty  of 
Guacanagari.  He  received  that  unfortunate  chief  to  his  renewed 
confidence  and  friendship,  and  extended  to  him  the  much-needed 
protection  he  sought  against  the  hostility  of  the  other  caciques. 
A  distinguished  trait  in  the  character  of  Columbus  was,  as  we 
have  seen,  his  ability  and  energy  in  rising  from  the  bed  of  illness 
or  from  misfortunes  to  vigorous  action.  This  he  had  already 

*  The  authors  consulted  in  this  and  several  preceding  pages  have  been  Oviedo, 
"Historia  del  Almirante,"  Herrera,  Irving,  Count  de  Lorgues,  as  translated  by  Dr. 
Barry,  Tarducci,  Fiske  and  Winsor. 


308  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

done  when  he  saw  his  brothers  at  his  side,  and  had  dispatched 
the  ships  to  Spain  with  his  brother  Diego,  commissioned  to  rep 
resent  him  at  court,  and  in  following  up  these  measures  with  a 
decided  policy,  and  its  execution  toward  the  combined  Indian 
conspiracy  against  Spanish  authority  in  the  new  world.  He 
deliberately  and  sternly  planned  the  breaking  of  the  caciques' 
league  against  him,  and  this  he  resolved  to  undertake  by  hand 
ling  the  members  of  the  league  separately.  Having  heard  that 
Captain  Luiz  d'Artiaga  had  become  closely  besieged  in  the  for 
tress  of  Magdalena  by  the  treacherous  cacique  of  Grand  River, 
Guatiguana,  he  sent  two  detachments  of  soldiers,  one  of  which 
attacked  that  chief  suddenly,  and  the  other  simultaneously  re 
lieved  the  fort ;  and  then  the  united  forces  overran  the  cacique's 
country  and  inflicted  severe  punishment  upon  him  and  his  people, 
by  defeating  them  in  battle,  killing  many  of  his  men,  and  captur 
ing  many  others,  the  cacique  himself  barely  escaping  with  his 
life.  Then,  remembering  that  Guatiguana  was  a  tributary  chief 
to  Guarionex,  the  King  of  the  Royal  Vega,  Columbus  got  the 
latter  to  come  to  see  him,  and  by  skilful  diplomacy  secured  his 
reconciliation.  Guarionex  was  not  only  pacified  by  the  admiral, 
but  he  also  allied  his  family  to  the  admiral's  household  by  the 
marriage  of  his  daughter  to  the  Indian  interpreter,  Diego  Colon, 
and  consented  to  the  erection  of  Fort  Conception  within  his  own 
dominions.  Little  did  the  unsuspecting  natives  dream  that  by 
such  concessions  they  were  forging  the  instruments  that  were  to 
complete  their  subjugation  and  finally  their  destruction. 

Having  thus  secured  the  friendship,  which  was  equivalent  to 
the  subjugation  of  the  lord  of  the  Royal  Vega,  Columbus  now 
seriously  considered  how  he  should  attempt  the  destruction  of 
the  native  league,  which  consisted  of  Caonabo,  his  brother-in- 
law,  Behechio,  and  the  King  of  Higuey.  Caonabo  was  the  soul 
of  the  coalition.  While  pondering  what  should  be  his  next  step, 
Columbus  was  suddenly  surprised  and  relieved  by  a  bold  and 
characteristic  offer  of  Alonzo  de  Ojeda,  which  was  nothing  less 
than  to  capture  that  formidable  chief  by  stratagem,  and  deliver 
him  alive  into  the  admiral's  hands.  Plunging  into  the  thick 
forest  with  ten  selected  men,  bold,  fearless,  and  thoroughly 
armed,  and  after  traversing  sixty  leagues  of  the  territory  of 
Caonabo,  Ojeda  and  his  party  came  upon  the  Lord  of  the  Golden 
House  in  one  of  his  largest  and  most  populous  towns,  and  sur- 


ON   COLUMBUS. 


309 


rounded  by  his  warrior  subjects.  The  wily  Spaniard,  no  less 
skilled  at  strategy  than  in  open  warfare,  approached  the  savage 
chief  with  a  show  of  profound  respect,  paying  him  royal  honors, 
and  presenting  messages  and  credentials  from  the  admiral,  whose 
Indian  name  was  Guamiquina,  signifying  Chief  of  the  Spaniards. 
In  the  name  of  the  admiral  he  tendered  the  chief  valuable  pres 
ents,  and  so  fascinated  the  savage  by  his  gallantry,  his  personal 
strength,  and  his  skill  at  all  athletic  exercises,  that  he  and 
Caonabo  became  the  best  of  friends.  Ojeda  was  perfectly  at 
home  and  at  his  ease  in  accepting  the  unbounded  though  rude 
hospitality  of  the  descendants  of  the  Caribs.  The  Spaniard  in 
vited  and  urged  Caonabo  to  repair  to  Isabella  for  the  purpose  of 
making  an  alliance  of  friendship  and  mutual  aid  with  the  great 
Spanish  chieftain.  The  most  powerful  argument  he  used  was 
an  offer  to  make  the  savage  a  present  of  the  chapel-bell  at 
Isabella,  which  the  Indians  thought  'was  gifted  with  the  power 
of  speech,  as  they  saw  the  steel-clad  warriors  from  the  skies  obey 
its  voice  and  repair  to  the  chapel  for  prayer  at  its  bidding. 

When  this  wonderful  present  was  offered  to  Caonabo,  who 
had  never  seen  but  had  heard  the  bell  sounding  the  summons  to 
mass  and  vespers  while  he  was  stealthily  reconnoitring  the  city, 
the  vain  chief  was  captivated  ;  such  a  peace-offering  was  over 
whelming.  Having  consented  to  accompany  Ojeda  and  his  war 
riors  to  Isabella,  he  surprised  them  by  presenting  himself  as 
ready  for  the  march  accompanied  by  a  numerous  body  of  armed 
warriors,  shrewdly  parrying  the  questions  and  allaying  surprise 
of  the  Spaniards  at  such  warlike  preparations  for  a  peaceful  mis 
sion  by  answering  that  a  chieftain  of  his  power  must  travel  in  a 
manner  worthy  of  his  dignity.  While  the  Spaniards  were  them 
selves  planning  treachery,  they  feared  it  at  the  hands  of  their 
intended  victim.  Ojeda  was  the  superior  of  Caonabo  in  duplicity, 
as  he  was  at  open  warfare.  Not  satisfied  with  alluring  the  brave 
native  king  by  the  prospective  sounds  of  the  promised  bell,  which 
were  in  this  instance  used  to  summon  him  to  an  inevitable  fate, 
Ojeda  now  dazzled  the  eyes  of  the  barbarian  with  a  pair 
of  polished  manacles,  which  he  treacherously  represented  to  be 
innocent  ornaments  intended  as  another  and  immediate  present 
for  the  chief.  Leading  the  credulous  Indian  into  a  snare,  the 
latter  found  himself  manacled  with  the  glittering  steels,  and 
before  his  warriors  were  aware  of  the  treacherv,  or  could  rush 


3IO  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

to  his  rescue,  he  was  hurried  forward  at  a  rapid  pace  on  one  of 
the  swiftest  Spanish  horses  a  captive  and  a  prisoner  to  the  city 
of  Isabella. 

Columbus  accepted  the  captive  at  the  hands  of  Ojeda  with 
expressions  of  pleasure,  and  though  he  treated  him  with  kind 
ness,  he  caused  him  to  be  kept  a  prisoner  in  chains  and  confined 
in  one  of  the  rooms  of  his  own  house.  Caonabo  to  the  last  ex 
hibited  the  utmost  haughtiness,  and  a  regal  refusal  to  succumb  to 
the  vicero}r.  While  for  Ojeda,  who  had  had  the  courage  and 
strategy  to  come  to  his  home  and  make  him  a  prisoner,  he  mani 
fested  the  utmost  respect  and  admiration,  for  the  admiral, 
who,  as  he  said,  had  never  dared  to  attempt  in  person  such  a 
feat,  he  manifested  the  utmost  indifference,  never  even  noticing 
his  presence,  or  rising,  as  others  did,  on  his  entrance.  In  1496, 
on  the  fleet  which  carried  Columbus  back  to  Spain,  Caonabo  was 
a  passenger  and  a  prisoner,  for  the  admiral  regarded  him  as  too 
dangerous  a  personage  to  leave  in  Hispaniola,  where  his  numer 
ous  subjects  might  at  any  time  attempt  his  recapture.  It  is  also 
said  that  he  had  hopes  of  seeing  the  barbarian's  conversion  to 
Christianity  effected  by  his  stay  in  Spain,  and  that  he  had  prom 
ised  liberty  and  their  return  to  Hispaniola  to  Caonabo  and  his 
brother.  On  the  voyage  to  Spain  several  of  the  Amazons  inhab 
iting  the  island  of  Guadeloupe  were  taken  as  prisoners  on  board 
the  ships,  and  the  female  cacique  of  these  warrior  women  con 
ceived  a  desperate  attachment  for  the  haughty  and  noble 
Caonabo,  so  much  so  that  when  the  prisoners  were  returned  to 
their  homes  she  would  not  leave  the  famous  Carib  chief  ;  but, 
having  heard  and  sympathized  with  his  history,  she  preferred  to 
share  his  fortunes,  keeping  with  her  also  her  young  daughter. 
Caonabo  was  proud  and  gloomy  to  the  last,  and  died  at  sea 
before  the  termination  of  the  voyage  of  a  broken  heart.* 

The  treacherous  seizure  and  imprisonment  of  Caonabo  aroused 
his  subjects,  and  indeed  most  of  the  savages  of  the  island.  That 
chieftain  had  three  brothers,  and  these  united  their  efforts  to 
raise  throughout  the  land  a  large  army,  and  succeeded  in  bring 
ing  into  the  field  seven  thousand  warriors,  in  hopes  of  first  cap- 

*  Las  Casas,  Herrera,  Fernando  Pizarro,  Charlevoix  and  Peter  Martyr  ;  Oviedo, 
"  Cronico  de  los  Indias,"  lib.  Hi.,  cap.  i.  ;  "  Historia  del  Almirante,"  cap.  63  ;  Cura 
de  los  Palacios,  cap.  131  ;  Irving's  "Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  37,  Si  ;  Barry's  trans 
lation  of  Count  de  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  p.  323. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  31! 

turing  Fort  St.  Thomas  and  its  garrison,  now  again  under  the 
command  of  Ojeda,  and  then  exterminating  the  cruel  intruders 
from  Hispaniola.  Manicatex,  the  ablest  and  most  warlike  of  the 
chieftain's  army,  assumed  command,  and  when  Ojeda,  at  the 
head  of  his  mail-clad  cavaliers  on  horseback,  rushed  intrepidly 
to  the  attack,  though  a  mere  handful  of  men  against  seven  thou 
sand,  the  Indian  general  showed  military  skill  in  arranging  his 
men  in  battalions,  and  using  them  at  first  with  true  generalship. 
But  the  rude  warriors  almost  immediately  became  panic-stricken 
and  fled  from  the  field,  while  the  Spaniards  slaughtered  many 
and  captured  great  numbers.  The  brother  of  Caonabo  fell  val 
iantly  fighting  for  his  country  and  his  race.* 

The  admiral,  though  still  feeble  from  his  recent  illness,  decided 
to  take  the  field  in  person,  at  the  head  of  his  entire  military 
force,  and  strike  a  final  blow  for  the  subjugation  of  the  natives. 
The  defeat  of  Manicatex  by  Ojeda  had  not  broken  the  spirit  of 
the  natives,  nor  softened  their  determination  to  defend  their 
homes  and  country,  and  to  revenge  the  captivity  of  Caonabo. 
That  Indian  warrior,  who  had  now  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  his 
imprisoned  brother,  his  brothers,  and  the  favorite  wife  of  Caonabo, 
the  beautiful  Anacaona,  the  sister  of  Behechio,  all  united  their 
influence  and  their  efforts  to  raise  the  whole  population  of  the 
island  to  arms.  They  succeeded  in  bringing  out  an  army  of  a 
hundred  thousand  men,  if  such  an  assemblage  of  naked  and 
undisciplined  savages  could  be  called  an  army.  Yet  when  the 
scouts  came  in  from  a  reconnoitring  tour,  they  represented  the 
small  but  intrepid  Spanish  army  as  resembling  only  a  sheaf  of 
corn,  which  the  natives  by  their  numbers  could  easily  surround 
and  destroy.  Manicatex  divided  his  immense  forces  into  five 
divisions,  so  that  the  Spanish  handful  of  men,  when  they  marched 
into  the  Vega,  would  become  surrounded  and  stifled  ;  but  the 
superior  forces  of  the  Spaniards  had  no  difficulty  in  overcoming 
this  immense  army  of  barbarians,  which  fell  into  panic  and  dis 
order  before  the  impetuous  charge  of  Ojeda  at  the  head  of  his 
cavalry,  and  fled  precipitately.  The  hordes  of  barbarians  van 
ished  before  the  irresistible  attack  of  disciplined  troops  as  mists 
in  the  air  are  dispelled  before  the  advancing  sun.  The  poor 

*  Oviedo,  "  Cronico  de  los  Indias,"  lib.  Hi.,  cap.  i.  ;  Charlevoix,  "  Historia  de  St. 
Domingo,"  lib.  ii.,  p.  131  ;  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  39  ;  Barry's  translation 
of  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  p.  323. 


312  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

Indians  submissively  and  fearfully  sued  from  the  rocks  and 
precipices,  to  which  they  had  fled,  for  mercy.  Many  were  killed 
and  many  more  were  wounded.  The  allied  army  wa's  completely 
routed.  Guarionex,  the  mild  and  pacific  cacique  of  the  Vega, 
whom  the  other  chiefs  had  induced  to  join  the  confederacy, 
made  his  peace  at  once  with  the  Spaniards,  and  accepted  the 
yoke.  Manicatex,  himself  the  commander-in-chief,  was  com 
pelled  to  sue  for  peace,  and  he,  together  with  a  nephew  of 
Caonabo,  was  sent  to  join  that  chieftain  in  his  prison  at  Isabella, 
and  subsequently  in  his  banishment  from  his  country.  Unlike 
him,  they  survived  the  voyage  to  Spain,  but  in  this,  as  in  many 
other  instances,  we  have  no  record  of  their  subsequent  fate. 

While  Columbus  was  following  up  his  victory  by  marching 
through  the  most  accessible  parts  of  the  island,  the  unhappy 
Guacanagari,  who  had  joined  the  Spanish  forces  against  his  own 
race,  though  his  services  were  of  little  use,  retired  now  to  his 
dominions  with  the  execrations  of  the  other  caciques  and  their 
people,  who  never  forgave  his  desertion  of  their  cause.  The 
sequel  will  show  that  he  gained  little  by  his  pliant  submission. 
Considerable  numbers  of  native  prisoners  were  led  to  Isabella. 
While  the  caciques  made  their  submission,  Behechio,  with  sad 
but  unavailing  pride,  retired  to  his  more  remote  and  inaccessible 
dominions,  carrying  with  him  his  sister,  the  beautiful  Anacaona, 
the  favorite  wife  of  Caonabo,  to  whom  he  was,  in  adversity  as  in 
former  and  better  days,  most  devoted,  and  who  seems  to  have 
survived  the  fate  of  her  husband  and  the  liberties  of  her  race,  to 
take  a  conspicuous  and  active  part  at  a  later  day,  though  an 
unavailing  one,  to  revenge  the  former  and  to  restore  the  latter. 
She  was  a  queen  by  nature,  as  well  as  by  birth  and  recognition, 
for  she  won  the  love  and  obedience  of  her  brother's  subjects, 
and  shared  with  him  the  actual  government  of  his  people. 

Europeans  have  always,  as  we  have  seen,  regarded  the  heathen 
and  undiscovered  lands  and  peoples  of  the  earth  as  subject  to- 
lawful  invasion  and  subjugation  by  their  more  civilized  Christian 
neighbors  ;  and  yet  they  found  it  convenient,  when  an  object  was 
to  be  attained,  to  apply  to  their  relations  with  the  heathens  the 
very  principles  of  public  and  international  law  which  would 
have  secured,  from  the  beginning,  to  the  invaded  and  subjugated 
peoples  a  perfect  protection  from  such  a  fate.  Acting  upon  this 
principle,  Columbus,  who  regarded  himself  as  forced  into  the 


ON   COLUMBUS.  313 

war  by  the  combination  of  the  caciques  and  their  peoples,  sought 
now  to  avail  himself  of  the  rights  of  a  conqueror,  which  consist 
not  only  in  imposing  the  political  yoke  of  the  victors  upon  the 
vanquished,  but  also  in  making  the  latter  pay  the  expenses  of  the 
war.  It  was  thus  that  he  decided  to  subject  the  whole  native 
population  of  Hispaniola  to  the  payment  of  tribute  to  their 
Spanish  conquerors.  The  royal  treasury  had  suffered  much 
from  the  first  expedition  and  in  the  subsequent  enterprises  of  the 
admiral  in  founding  a  Spanish  empire  in  the  new  world.  How 
could  he  reimburse  the  exchequer  ?  How  could  he  give  the  lie 
to  the  malicious  falsehoods  of  the  assayist,  Firmin  Cado,  Pedro 
Margarite,  and  Father  Boil  at  court,  that  the  country  was  barren 
of  precious  metals  ?  The  tribute  should  be  imposed  and  col 
lected  in  gold  itself  ;  this  was  the  crucial  test.  The  admiral, 
therefore,  in  order  to  make  returns  to  his  country  and  sover 
eigns,  and  even  to  promote  his  remoter  but  yet  cherished 
schemes  for  redeeming  the  Holy  Land,  imposed  upon  the  natives 
of  Hispaniola  heavy  and  onerous  tributes  in  gold.  Every  in 
habitant  of  the  Vega  and  of  Cibao  over  fourteen  years  of  age 
was  required  to  pay  to  the  receiver  of  the  royal  revenues  a 
measure  of  a  Flemish  hawk's  bell  of  gold-dust  or  grains  every 
three  months.  An  individual  tribute,  much  greater  in  amount, 
was  imposed  upon  all  the  caciques  ;  but  Manicatex,  for  his  ac 
tivity  in  the  war,  was  compelled,  in  addition,  to  pay  an  amount 
of  gold  equal  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  pesos  of  Spanish  coin. 
Where  gold  did  not  exist  the  individual  was  to  pay  instead  a 
tribute  of  twenty -five  pounds  of  cotton  every  three  months.  A 
certificate  of  the  payment  thus  made  into  the  royal  treasury  con 
sisted  of  a  copper  medal,  which  was  hung  around  the  Indian's 
neck,  and  those  not  carrying  the  medal  were  liable  to  be  arrested 
and  thrown  into  prison.  Thus  the  yoke  of  servitude  and  of 
tribute  was  consummated  in  the  emblematic  yoke  which  the 
taxpayers  were  compelled  to  wear  around  their  necks. 

The  late  King  of  the  Royal  Vega,  for  his  sceptre  had  passed 
to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  besought  the  admiral  to  accept  from 
his  fertile  country  a  tribute  of  grain  for  the  food  of  the  Spaniards, 
as  the  Vega  possessed  little  gold,  and  his  subjects  were  not 
skilled  at  gathering  it  in  the  river  beds  ;  but  as  the  admiral 
knew  that  gold  alone  would  meet  the  expectations  of  his  sover 
eign,  he  refused  the  offer,  though  it  would  have  secured  the  cul- 


314  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

tivation  by  the  natives  of  a  large  belt  of  rich  territory,  stretching 
from  sea  to  sea.  Such  was  the  necessity,  that  scanty  grains  of 
gold  were  preferred  to  the  culture  of  nature's  bountiful  treasures 
of  the  soil.  So  great  was  the  difficulty  with  the  poor  inhabitants 
in  toiling  for  three  months  in  unsuccessful  efforts  to  gather  the 
coveted  and  glittering  particles,  that  Columbus  became  satisfied 
with  half  a  hawk's  bell  of  gold  as  the  tribute  in  such  cases. 

The  island  of  Hispaniola  being  now  effectually  conquered,  and 
the  natives  now  wearing  the  tribute-medal  on  their  necks,  the 
country  became  studded  with  fortifications  to  maintain  the  Span 
ish  authority,  keep  the  Indians  in  subjection,  and  enforce  the 
collection  of  the  tribute.  Fort  St.  Thomas  was  put  in  a  state  of 
impregnable  strength  ;  so  also  was  the  fort  at  Isabella  ;  and  new 
fortresses  were  erected  at  Magdalena,  in  the  Vega  ;  another  on 
the  site  of  the  town  of  Santiago  and  near  the  Estencia,  on  the 
Yaqui,  called  Santa  Catalina  ;  another  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
Yaqui,  called  Esperanza,  and  near  the  Pass  of  the  Hidalgos,  now 
called  the  Pass  of  the  Marney  ;  and,  largest  of  all,  Fort  Concep 
tion,  in  the  heart  of  the  Vega  ;  thus  giving  to  the  Spaniards  the 
complete  mastery  over  the  dominions  of  Guarionex.  The  bur 
dens  now  imposed  upon  the  Indians,  their  sufferings  under  the 
Spanish  yoke,  and  the  tribute  wrung  from  them  gave  voice  and 
force  to  the  plaint  in  the  sympathetic  heart  of  Las  Casas,  the 
tenderest  of  lamentations.  The  Count  de  Lorgues  and  Dr. 
Barry,  apologetically  yet  justly  casting  the  blame  upon  Spanish 
policy  and  necessities,  exclaim  :  "  But  it  was  not  grain  that 
Castile  wanted  ;  King  Ferdinand  demanded  gold,  and  not  small 
grain  !"  * 

The  advent  of  the  Spaniards  had  produced  great  changes  in 
the  condition  of  a  peaceful  population,  from  time  immemorial 
securely  reposing  in  peace  in  their  own  homes,  yielding  scarce 
ly  a  nominal  service  or  tribute  to  their  own  chiefs,  enjoying 
the  generous  and  unstinted  abundance  which  nature,  soil,  and 
climate  spontaneously  yielded,  and,  after  each  day  of  dreamy 
idleness  and  blissful  enjoyment  of  life,  reposing  sweetly  at  night, 
with  no  care  for  the  morrow.  The  native  sovereigns  of  Hayti 
exercised  merely  a  fraternal  sway  over  their  tribes,  their  only 


*  Las  Casas,  "  Historia    Ind.,"  lib.  i.,  cc.   105-10;  Irving's  "Columbus,"  vol.  iii., 
p.  51  ;  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  p.  326. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  31$ 

personal  perquisites  being  a  few  brief  rights  of  hunting  and  fish 
ing,  a  small  quantity  of  cassava  or  cotton,  or,  in  lieu  thereof, 
service  in  war.  The  fruits,  vegetables,  and  grain  which  consti 
tuted  their  food  made  the  Indians  healthy,  agile,  and  comely, 
but  they  imparted  no  robust  strength  ;  labor  was  as  unsuited  to 
their  condition  as  it  was  unnecessary  ;  Nature,  in  her  gentle  way, 
supplied  their  wants  ;  though  indolent,  they  were  cheerful  and 
mirthful  ;  the  daily  courses  of  the  sun  and  moon  were  followed  by 
them  with  successive  slumbers,  feasts,  games,  songs,  and  dances  ; 
traditional  stories  of  personal  exploits  and  character  were  their 
only  literature,  and  their  wandering  singers  or  rustic  minstrels 
dimly  resembled  the  troubadours  of  Provence,  while  their  story 
tellers  recalled  the  scalds  and  sagamen  of  Iceland.  The  time, 
action,  and  sounds  of  dancing  feet  supplied  the  place  of  the  trouba 
dour's  harp  ;  the  professional  newsmongers  resembled  in  the 
abstract  only  the  vocation  of  our  modern  newspapers.  Anacao- 
na,  whose  name  beautifully  signified  "  the  Golden  Flower,"  was 
their  Homer,  their  Cid,  their  Ossian,  or  their  Chaucer  all  combined. 
Carib  adventures  and  the  dark  works  of  sorcerers  formed  the 
staple  of  their  heroic  poetry.  The  songs  of  the  island,  or  areytos, 
were  merely  traditional  poems  which  living  poets  recited  to 
the  music  of  the  feet  or  the  sound  of  the  simplest  drums.  There 
were  traditions  among  them  which  had  their  sources  undoubt 
edly  in  the  great  fountains  of  original  and  Mosaic  history  The 
garden,  the  flood,  the  redemption  were  dimly  shadowed  in  their 
racial  and  unwritten  histories.  But — ominous  tradition  ! — they 
had  received  from  their  ancients  and  forefathers  a  prophecy  that 
their  peaceful  and  blissful  land  would  some  day  be  invaded  by 
strangers  clad  in  armor  and  flowing  robes,  bearing  swords  capa 
ble  of  cleaving  a  man  in  twain  at  a  single  stroke,  and  who  would 
impose  a  galling  yoke  upon  their  necks.  Were  these  the  present 
steel-clad  warriors  and  horse-mounted  conquerors,  with  viceroy 
and  priest,  all  clad  in  flowing  robes,  that  had  exacted  the  tribute, 
transported  their  chiefs  beyond  the  seas,  and  erected  frowning 
fortresses  on  every  available  hill,  at  every  pass,  and  on  the  banks 
of  once  peaceful  rivers  ?  Were  they  from  heaven  ?  Would  they 
ever  return  to  their  homes  in  the  clouds  ?  Or  would  they  build 
for  themselves  earthly  homes,  covet  and  seize  the  native  gold, 
take  to  themselves  native  wives,  and  make  slaves  of  the  free 
children  of  nature  ? 


316  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

The  days  of  Indian  dreams  were  passed.  Traditions  had 
become  history.  The  native  areytos  now  mournfully  sang  the 
story  of  the  Indian  subjugation.  It  is  the  decree  of  human  de 
velopment,  that  wherever  the  foot  of  civilized  man  is  planted 
barbarism  must  yield  to  civilization  !  Oh,  how  dearly  purchased 
is  this  boon  of  civilization  ! 

The  military  subjugation  of  the  natives  of  Hispaniola  plunged 
its  former  rulers  and  its  people  in  gloom  and  despair.  Finding 
it  hopeless  to  struggle  at  arms  with  this  mail-clad  race,  the 
Indians  betook  themselves  to  the  expedient  of  starving  their 
conquerors  by  refraining  from  cultivating  the  soil,  or  raising 
food  even  for  themselves.  They  retreated  to  the  most  inaccessi 
ble  mountains,  after  destroying  the  food  and  crops  already  pro 
duced,  laying  waste  their  own  fields  ;  and  they  preferred  rather 
to  drag  out  a  miserable  subsistence  on  roots  and  herbs  than  be 
the  submissive  slaves  of  the  Spaniards.  These  measures,  how 
ever,  exposed  the  natives,  accustomed  to  live  in  the  open  air  and 
enjoy  the  abundance  of  a  bountiful  soil  and  climate,  to  the  damp 
air  of  forests  or  the  clammy  atmosphere  of  caves,  to  the  vicious 
effects  of  poisonous  roots  for  their  bread  and  the  sickening  con 
sequences  of  scanty  food,  so  that  the  native  population  was  as 
effectually  decimated  by  disease  as  it  had  been  by  the  swords  of 
the  invaders.  The  Spaniards,  on  the  other  hand,  showed  the 
true  mettle  of  a  fully  developed  and  civilized  race  ;  for  it  is  a  trait 
of  the  Spanish  character  to  be  able  to  bear,  and  even  to  be 
aggressive  under  hunger  and  thirst,  marches  and  fatigues,  when 
ever  there  is  an  object  to  be  attained,  whether  it  be  national  or 
personal,  heroic  or  sordid.  The  Spaniards,  too,  unlike  the 
natives,  dependent  as  they  were  on  their  immediate  local  and 
scanty  resources,  and  relying  solely  on  the  bounty  of  nature, 
had  a  powerful,  proud,  and  prosperous  other  home  beyond  the 
seas  to  appeal  to  ;  a  mother  country  to  sustain  them,  and  great 
ships  to  bring  foods  and  medicines,  and  the  implements  of  peace 
and  of  war  ;  a  nation  ambitious  and  able  to  sound  the  trumpet  of 
Spanish  conquest,  and  sustain  it. 

Spanish  resolution  was  not  to  be  balked  by  any  measure  of 
Indian  combination.  The  natives  were  not  permitted  to  languish 
and  perish  in  their  mountain  retreats.  The  Spanish  soldiers 
followed  them  to  their  caves,  now  their  homes,  and  compelled 
them  at  the  point  of  the  sword  to  return  to  the  labors  and  toils 


ON   COLUMBUS.  317 

imposed  on  them  by  their  conquerors.  The  natives,  thus  driven 
from  their  caves  in  the  mountains,  fled  to  remoter  and  more  deso 
late  and  deadly  heights  and  caverns.  Whole  families  fled  from 
one  place  to  another  :  mothers,  burdened  with  their  infants  and 
a  few  articles  of  use,  traversed  in  hunger,  fear,  and  despair  their 
once  verdant  and  abundant  fields,  on  the  rocky  cliffs  and  passes 
of  the  mountains,  fleeing  from  Spanish  swords  or  lances  ;  the 
old  and  tenderest  young  sank  upon  the  way.  The  pursuers  gave 
their  victims  no  rest  from  labor  or  flight ;  the  fisheries  and  hunts 
were  abandoned  to  the  victors  by  the  vanquished,  and  many  of 
the  latter  perished  for  want  of  food  in  a  country  lately  abound 
ing  with  spontaneous  crops  and  fruits.  Every  sound,  even  of  the 
forest  or  rivers,  startled  the  pursued.  Finally  there  was  scarcely 
a  native  found  at  large  to  be  hunted  ;  a  Spaniard  could  traverse 
the  island  without  meeting  an  Indian  from  sea  to  sea.  The  few 
that  escaped  came  down  to  the  fields  and  accepted  the  inevitable 
yoke  of  toil  and  slavery  ;  while  the  conquerors  became  the  lords 
of  the  land,  even  using  the  natives  as  their  beasts  of  burden,  and 
in  their  travels  being  carried  on  their  shoulders. 

Entire  submission  from  the  beginning  brought  no  relief,  as  was 
witnessed  in  the  case  of  the  unfortunate  Guacanagari.  While 
his  friendship  for  the  Spaniards  subjected  him  to  the  hatred  and 
hostility  of  his  own  race  and  neighbors,  it  did  not  exempt  him 
from  the  heavy  tribute  exacted  from  those  who  had  resisted 
and  warred  against  the  Spanish  rule,  nor  from  remorseless 
cruelty  and  an  agonizing  death,  a  consummate  fate.  The  pay 
ment  of  the  tribute  was  exacted  from  him  and  his  people,  allies 
though  they  were,  with  unsparing  exactness.  He  and  they  suc 
cumbed  under  the  intolerable  burdens  their  professed  friends 
imposed  upon  them.  Ojeda  attempted  to  justify  the  cruelty  of 
the  Spaniards  to  him  by  the  greater  cruelty  of  slandering  his 
name  and  character.  The  admiral,  now  engrossed  with  the 
cares  and  labors  of  conquest  and  administration,  it  has  been  sug 
gested  in  his  excuse,  and  feeling  the  harsh  thrust  of  calumny 
and  persecution  from  his  own  people  at  home  penetrating  his 
own  heart,  would,  had  he  not  been  much  absent  ill  other  parts 
of  the  island,  have  shielded  one  whom  he  always  trusted  and 
befriended  when  others  attacked  ?  The  hatred  of  neighboring 
caciques  and  tribes,  the  lamentations  of  his  own  impoverished 
subjects,  and  the  exactions  of  the  Spaniards,  drove  this  amiable 


318  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

but  doomed  chief  to  the  mountainous  caves,  and  to  an  obscure 
and  miserable  death.* 

We  have  already  related  events  which  showed  how  filled  with 
thorns  was  the  viceregal  crown  worn  by  Christopher  Columbus 
in  the  new  domains  of  his  own  discovery.  Margarite,  Father 
Boil,  and  other  deserters  from  Hispaniola,  chiefly  cavaliers,  on 
arriving  in  Spain  had  proved  themselves  busy  slanderers  and 
libellers  against  the  name,  reputation,  and  administration  of  their 
chief,  whom  they  had  abandoned  in  the  moment  of  his  greatest 
need.  In  order  to  justify  their  own  perfidy,  they  represented 
Columbus  as  the  real  criminal,  and  they,  his  innocent  and  de 
ceived  victims,  had  sought  refuge  under  the  paternal  wings  of 
their  and  his  sovereigns.  Their  chief  calumnies  were  that  he  had 
designedly  deceived  the  king  and  queen  and  the  world  in  rela 
tion  to  the  resources  of  the  country,  and  especially  in  his  state 
ments  of  its  riches  in  gold,  while  the  country  was  in  fact  poor, 
destitute  of  the  precious  metals,  and  now  groaning  under  the 
oppressions  and  cruelties  of  Columbus  and  his  brothers  ;  and 
they  exhibited  letters  from  some  they  left  behind  stating  their 
miserable  condition  and  their  inability  to  return  home  because  of 
their  sickness  and  poverty  ;  that  Columbus  had  extortionately 
aggrandized  himself  at  the  expense  of  the  sovereigns  and  the 
colony  and  natives.  Sebastian  de  Olano,  the  receiver  of  the 
crown  revenues,  who  had  heard  this  charge  commenced  in  the 
colony,  had  sent  a  letter  by  the  same  ship  with  the  deserters, 
giving  a  direct  contradiction  to  the  falsehood.  These  malcon 
tents  further  charged  that  the  admiral  had  for  months  absented 
himself  from  Hispaniola,  and  had  probably  perished  in  his  fool 
hardy  adventures  ;  that  the  island  was  in  confusion  and  anarchy 
by  reason  of  the  tyranny  and  misgovernment  of  the  Genoese 
foreigner.  These  accusations,  supported  by  the  vicar  apostolic 
and  the  letters  of  other  malcontents,  made  a  deep  impression 
upon  the  minds  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  To  make  the  cause 
of  the  admiral  more  desperate,  several  mariners  and  pilots,  who 
had  accompanied  him  in  his  first  voyage,  such  as  Vincent  Yafies 
Pinzon,  and  others,  made  offers  to  the  crown  to  undertake  voy 
ages  of  discovery  and  colonization  in  the  new  world  entirely  at 


*  For  these  and  further  details,  see  the  pages  of  Las  Casas,  Peter  Martyr,  Charle- 
voix,  Irving,  and  the  Count  de  Lorgues. 


ON    COLUMBUS.  319 

their  own  cost,  and  without  expense  to  the  government.     Ferdi 
nand,  who  was  known  to  be  sordid  and  mistrusting,  accepted 
such  offers,  though  his  permits  or  commissions  were  in  direct 
contravention  of  the  rights  of  the  admiral.     The  calumnies  of 
Margarite  and   Father  Boil,   so  falsely  and    maliciously  made, 
were  unworthily  and  fraudulently  sustained  by  Bishop  Fonseca. 
These  two  ecclesiastics,  real  politicians  clothed  with  sacred  func 
tions  and  duties  by  King  Ferdinand,  and  which  they  shamefully 
neglected  for  the  affairs  of  the  State  and  of  the  world,   have 
become  recognized  by  all  historians  as  bearing  a  "  mortal  hatred," 
as  the  Count  de  Lorgues  expresses  it,  against  Columbus.     Fon 
seca  supported  the  grant  of  licenses  to  Pinzon  and  others  to 
make  voyages  to  the  new  world,  though  he  knew,  as  his  patron, 
the  king,  knew,  that  they  plainly  violated  the  concessions  sol 
emnly  made  to  Columbus.      In  fact,   on  April  loth,   1495,  the 
Spanish   sovereigns,    by    public   proclamation,    gave   a   general 
license  to  all  subjects  of  the  crown  to  prosecute  on  their  own 
account  voyages  of  discovery  and  colonization  to  the  new  world, 
and  to  all  native-born  subjects  to  settle  in  Hispaniola  ;  and  de 
tailed  regulations  were  issued  for  the  conduct  of  such   enter 
prises,  and  for  securing  to  the  crown  its  share  of  gold  and  other 
products.     Fonseca  was  directed  to  send  out  with  a  fleet,  which 
was  about  to  sail  for  Hispaniola  with  provisions  and  general 
supplies,  under  the  command  of  one  Juanoto  Berardi,  some  dis 
creet  and  trusty  person,  who  should,   in  case  of  the  admiral's 
absence,  take  upon  himself  the  government  of  Hispaniola,  and  in 
case  of  his  presence  or  return,  to  make  strict  investigation  into 
the  complaints  of  the  malcontents,  and  to  apply  a  remedy  to  all 
abuses  discovered  to  exist.     Diego  Carillo,  a  commander  of  a 
military  order,  was  selected  for  this  delicate  and  important  func 
tion  ;  but  as  this  officer  was  not  then  ready  to  sail,  the  fleet  of 
twelve  ships  was  compelled  to  sail  without  him,  and  a  trusty 
person  was  to  go  out  in  his  stead,  commissioned  to  superintend 
the  distribution  of  the  provisions  and  to  redress  and  remedy  the 
existing  evils  of  the  island  ;  and  in  case  the  admiral  was  at  home, 
his  administration  was  not  to  be  disturbed.     This  officer  was  to 
return  and  make  report  of  his  trust  to  the  sovereigns.     These 
measures,  taken  as  they  were  without  his  consent,  were  a  severe 
blow  to  the  popularity  and  position  of  the  admiral. 

Such   was  the  condition   of  the   admiral's  fortunes  at  court, 


320  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

when  fortunately  the  fleet  under  Antonio  de  Torres  arrived  in 
Spain,  with  Don  Diego  Columbus  on  board.  The  sovereigns 
now  heard  directly  from  the  admiral,  and  of  his  safe  return  to 
Hispaniola  ;  received  the  accounts  of  his  voyages  and  explora 
tions  along  the  islands  of  Cuba  and  Jamaica,  the  documents  and 
declarations  showing  that  he  had  reached  and  explored  the  ex 
tremities  of  Asia,  and  had  opened  to  his  sovereigns  and  to  his 
country  Oriental  regions  of  boundless  wealth.  These  accounts 
were  supported  by  the  golden  specimens  sent  home,  and  by  the 
animals,  trees,  and  shrubs  of  that  new  empire  thus  acquired  for 
Spain.  A  reaction  now  set  in  favorable  to  the  fortunes  of 
Columbus.  The  queen  ordered  that,  instead  of  the  soldier  Diego 
Carillo,  a  former  companion  of  Columbus  on  his  first  voyage, 
who  was  under  obligations  to  him,  and  whom  on  his  return  he 
had  warmly  recommended  to  the  favor  of  the  crown,  and  now  a 
member  of  her  own  household,  should  be  sent  out  on  the  impor 
tant  duty  of  investigation  and  relief  to  Hispaniola.  This  was 
Juan  Aguado,  whose  appointment  the  queen  delicately  and 
kindly  thought  would  prove  acceptable  to  Columbus.  Fonseca, 
having  officiously  and  maliciously  seized  the  gold  brought 
over  by  Don  Diego  Columbus  for  account  of  his  brother's 
share,  Isabella  ordered  him  to  restore  the  same  to  Don  Diego, 
with  suitable  explanations  and  courteous  amends,  and  to  take 
counsel  from  the  passengers  and  others  on  the  fleet  of  Torres  as 
to  how  the  measures  of  his  department  could  be  made  agreeable 
to  the  admiral  ;  he  was  also  ordered  to  send  to  court  Bernal 
Diaz  de  Pisa,  who  was  the  first  to  disturb  the  administration  of 
Columbus  in  Hispaniola. 

Orders  had  been  issued  for  the  exposure  to  sale  as  slaves,  in 
the  markets  of  Andalusia,  of  the  numerous  Indians  taken  as 
prisoners  in  the  recent  encounters  between  the  Spaniards  and 
the  natives — orders  issued  probably  by  Ferdinand,  with  the  view 
of  replenishing  the  royal  exchequer,  for  which  purpose  the  living 
cargo  was  sent  out  from  Hispaniola.  The  queen,  on  discovering 
this,  was  deeply  moved  with  pity  ;  for  it  was  her  prayer  that  the 
Indians  should  become  Christians  rather  than  be  made  slaves. 
She  consulted  her  most  confidential  advisers  on  the  subject  of 
the  lawfulness  of  enslaving  the  natives,  and  as  their  opinions 
varied,  she  decided  the  question  according  to  her  own  pure  and 
enlightened  conscience,  and  in  favor  of  liberty.  She  ordered 


ON   COLUMBUS.  321 

Fonseca  to  provide  for  returning-  the  captured  Indians  to  their 
own  country,  but  excepted  from  this  order  nine  of  them,  whom 
Columbus  had  selected  to  be  educated  to  become  interpreters, 
and  thus  be  able  to  aid  in  the  conversion  of  their  countrymen  to 
Christianity.  Fonseca  obeyed,  though  with  reluctance,  the  man 
dates  of  the  queen,  in  which  she  showed  her  regard  for  the  ad 
miral  ;  but  Fonseca  felt  them  as  humiliations  to  himself  ;  and  his 
hostility  toward  that  illustrious  person  is  said  to  have  become  so 
intensified,  that  he  availed  himself  of  every  opportunity  during 
the  admiral's  life — and  his  official  opportunities  were  frequent — 
to  delay  and  thwart  his  measures  and  enterprises,  fraught  as  they 
were  with  the  glory  and  pre-eminence  of  Spain. 

The  queen  studiously  studied  to  give  no  umbrage  to  Colum 
bus  by  her  acts,  but  rather  to  show  her  confidence  in  him  ;  yet 
the  sovereigns  united  in  such  measures  of  precaution  and  regu 
lation  as  they  thought  could  remedy  the  existing  evils  and  pre 
vent  others.  They  instructed  him  by  letter  to  limit  the  colony 
to  five  hundred  persons  ;  to  discontinue  the  shortening  or  stop 
page  of  rations,  by  way  of  punishment  for  offences,  as  detrimen 
tal  to  the  health  of  the  colonists.  An  experienced  and  skilful 
metallurgist,  Pablo  Belvis,  was  sent  out  in  place  of  Firmin  Cado, 
and  the  places  of  Father  Borl  and  his  followers  were  supplied  by 
a  corps  of  missionaries.  The  Indian  captives  were  sent  back  to 
freedom  and  their  country,  so  far  as  country  and  liberty  were 
left  for  the  natives,  and  the  admiral  was  enjoined  to  extend  to 
the  aborigines  kindness  and  gentle  treatment.  Would  that  these 
measures  had  been  sent  out  in  time  to  do  some  good  !  Now, 
alas  !  it  was  too  late  ;  the  passions  of  Europeans  had  thwarted 
the  noble  purposes  of  Isabella  and  Columbus. 

By  means  of  his  unworthy  and  intentional  delays  and  obstruc 
tions,  Fonseca  prevented  the  sailing  of  the  ships  before  the  end 
of  August,  when  they  sailed  with  Aguado  as  agent  of  the  crown, 
who  was  accompanied  by  Don  Diego  Columbus.  The  admiral 
was  absent  from  Isabella  and  busily  engaged  in  the  interior  of 
the  island  on  the  arrival  of  Aguado.  This  official,  though  under 
heavy  obligations  to  him,  and  though  restricted  by  his  commis 
sion  and  the  verbal  instructions  he  had  received,  lost  sight  of  all 
prudence  and  justice  ;  assumed  the  tone  and  air  of  power  and 
administration  ;  ignored  the  position  of  the  Adelantado  then 
exercised  at  Isabella  by  Bartholomew  Columbus,  refused  him 


322  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

sight  of  his  commission,  and  only  afterward,  and  then  with  great 
pomp  and  sound  of  trumpets,  caused  it  to  be  publicly  proclaimed. 
This  document  was  couched  in  indefinite  language.  Aguado 
was  simply  commissioned  to  speak  to  the  colonists  on  the  part  of 
the  sovereigns,  and  to  receive  from  them  in  return  faith  and 
credit  ;  and  while  even  these  words  were  restricted  by  verbal 
instructions,  Aguado  insolently  amplified  them  by  his  assumption 
of  authority,  his  interference  in  the  affairs  of  the  colony,  and  in 
the  pretended  redress  of  grievances.  Proving  himself  to  be  a 
mere  upstart,  he  was  as  destitute  of  forethought  as  he  was  of 
prudence,  truth,  and  justice.  While  criminals  and  offenders  of 
every  kind,  at  his  bidding,  arose  up  to  accuse  and  malign  the 
admiral  and  his  brothers  and  their  administration,  he  allowed 
reports  of  the  downfall  of  Columbus  and  of  the  appointment  of 
a  new  admiral  to  circulate  through  the  island,  and  he  taunted  the 
admiral  with  purposely  remaining  away  from  Isabella  in  order 
to  avoid  the  investigation  of  his  conduct  and  the  punishment  of 
his  misdeeds. 

On  the  other  hand,  as  soon  as  Columbus  heard  of  the  arrival 
of  Aguado,  and  of  his  arrogant  conduct,  he  hastened  from  the 
interior  to  the  city.  Aguado  had  sufficient  followers  from  the 
most  degraded  classes  on  the  island,  and  from  the  disloyal  of  all 
classes,  to  espouse  his  cause,  and  he  had  the  hardihood  to  start 
forth  at  the  head  of  a  body  of  cavalry  to  seek  the  so-charged 
fallen  and  derelict  viceroy.  Columbus  arrived  at  Isabella  in  the 
midst  of  the  turmoil  and  disorder  created  by  Aguado.  His 
friends  were  apprehensive  that  the  meeting  between  the  high- 
spirited  and  tenacious  viceroy  with  this  boasting  and  arrogant 
pretender  would  be  stormy  and  violent,  for  it  was  well  known 
that  the  admiral  had  every  provocation,  and  that  his  cause  was 
just.  The  queen  had  selected  Aguado  as  an  act  of  regard  for 
the  admiral,  to  whom  he  was  under  many  obligations,  and  it 
was  evident  that  some  enemy  of  the  latter  had  seduced  him  from 
the  path  of -honor  and  duty,  and  inspired  him  with  the  unworthy 
purpose  of  seeking  the  downfall  of  his  former  friend.  That  Juan 
Rodriguez  de  Fonseca,  aided  by  his  equally  unworthy  colleagues 
in  the  Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs,  was  now,  as  he  proved  himself 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  the  instigator  of  the  present 
persecutions  against  Columbus,  is  the  accepted  voice  of  history. 
He  was  a  politician  clothed  with  ecclesiastical  power,  titles,  and 


ON   COLUMBUS.  .  323 

V  • 

insignia  ;  he  was  a  man  of  the  world  and  a  self-seeker,  who  had 
sought  and  found  place  in  the  Church.  His  name  might  now 
be  known  and  venerated  in  history  as  the  right  arm  of  the  Span 
ish  sovereigns  and  of  their  viceroy,  in  the  grand  work  of  giving 
to  mankind  a  new  world  to  inhabit  and  ennoble  with  civilization 
and  religion  ;  he  might  have  ranked  among  Christian  heroes  by 
promoting  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  to  Christianity  and  their 
safety  from  annihilation  ;  and  his  name  might  have  gone  down 
in  history  along  with  that  of  a  more  worthy  bishop  of  the 
Church,  the  great  and  good  Las  Casas,  the  noble  Bishop  of 
Chiapa.  He  might  have  won  renown  by  having  his  obscure 
name  linked  with  the  name  of  Columbus  ;  but  he  preferred  the 
part  of  meanness  and  dishonor,  and  his  name  is  only  associated 
with  these  great  events  and  distinguished  persons  by  the  con 
trast  which  the  little  and  the  base  things  of  earth  bear  to  the 
grand  and  magnificent. 

It  was  a  part  of  Aguado's  scheme  to  irritate  Columbus  by 
insulting  him  in  the  name  of  his  own  sovereigns,  and  to  betray 
him  into  words  and  acts  of  indignation  and  rebellion  against 
their  authority  and  dignity.  But  the  conduct  of  Columbus  tow 
ered  above  the  baseness  of  his  enemies,  for  he  had  experienced 
too  much  of  life  and  of  affairs,  had  passed  through  severe  ordeals 
of  suffering  and  disappointment,  and  by  long  self-training  and 
pious  self-denial,  he  had  become  the  master  of  a  naturally  impul 
sive  disposition.  Aguado  struggled  to  do  just  what  Isabella  had 
studied  to  avoid — giving  offence  to  the  admiral  ;  but  Columbus 
experienced  an  inward  satisfaction  in  standing  superior  to  the 
vices,  the  crimes,  the  selfishness  and  machinations  of  bad  and 
degraded  men,  and  of  the  baser  portion  of  mankind.  He  proved 
himself  equal  to  the  present  trying  emergency.  He  saw  his 
enemies  and  detractors  multiply  in  great  numbers  before  his 
approach.  The  authority  of  his  brother,  the  Adelantado,  had 
been  set  at  defiance  or  ignored,  his  own  commission  questioned, 
the  colony  demoralized  and  turned  against  him,  and  even  the 
Indians  came  into  Isabella  under  the  impression  that  he  was  a 
fallen  and  degraded  chief,  and  were  seduced  into  joining  the 
clamor  and  the  slanders  against  their  best  friend.  It  was  true, 
they  had  unparalleled  wrongs  and  grievances  to  complain  of, 
but  it  was  not  Columbus  or  his  brothers  ;  it  was,  on  the  contrary, 
such  men  as  Aguado  and  his  followers  who  had  been  the  origina- 


324  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

tors  and  perpetrators  of  them.  It  looked  as  though  the  discov 
erer  of  the  new  world  was  the  most  unworthy  and  the  most 
unfortunate  of  its  inhabitants. 

Columbus,  whose  conduct  under  the  delays  he  had  experienced 
at  Lisbon  and  in  Spain,  when  there  was  question  of  discovering 
another  hemisphere,  has  been  pronounced  by  historians  as 
marked  by  ability,  now  that  the  achievement  was  accomplished, 
showed  even  greater  strength  of  character  and  conduct.  Aguado 
advanced  to  exhibit  and  proclaim  his  commission  from  the  sover 
eigns.  Columbus  with  unruffled  calmness  received  the  puffed-up 
official  with  solemn  and  ceremonious  courtesy  and  dignity,  and 
with  ostentatious  display  ordered  a  second  reading  of  the  letter 
with  sound  of  trumpets  before  the  assembled  multitude,  com 
posed  as  it  was  of  soldier  and  husbandman,  cavalier  and  peasant, 
scientist  and  mechanic,  Indian  and  European,  loyal  and  disloyal, 
and  people  of  many  nationalities,  varied  histories,  and  indescri 
bable  appearances,  the  motley  inhabitants  of  two  hemispheres 
brought  together.  Whereupon  the  admiral,  after  listening  to 
the  reading  of  the  royal  letter  with  profound  respect,  in  formal 
speech  and  with  every  show  of  loyalty  and  honor  assured 
Aguado  that  he  was  now  and  at  all  times  ready  to  make  due  obe 
dience  to  his  sovereigns  and  an  ever-ready  compliance  with  their 
orders.  The  audience,  astonished  at  the  lofty  bearing  of  the 
admiral,  remained  in  baffled  silence,  while  Aguado,  foiled  in  his 
scheme,  and  smarting  with  defeat,  burst  forth  in  arrogant  and 
insolent  language  and  tone  to  insult  the  admiral  in  public,  hoping 
anew  to  provoke  the  latter  to  an  altercation  ;  but  Columbus  was 
equal  to  the  occasion,  and,  as  we  are  told,  "  bore  his  insolence 
with  great  modesty."  Thus  defeated  in  his  first  designs,  this 
unworthy  official  resorted  now  to  the  shameful  means  of  inciting 
the  populace  to  clamor  against  the  admiral,  to  impute  to  him 
and  his  brothers  their  grievances  and  the  calamities  of  the  island, 
to  accumulate  an  immense  mass  of  worthless  and  perjured  testi 
mony  against  him,  not  stopping  at  maligning  his  public  adminis 
tration,  but  invading  the  unsullied  precincts  of  his  private  char 
acter,  conduct,  and  motives.  The  Indians,  wards  of  the  gener 
ous  Queen  of  Castile,  were  incited  to  assemble  together  at  the 
house  of  Manicatex,  and  through  their  chiefs  to  prefer  formal 
complaints  and  charges  against  Columbus.  The  misdeeds  and 
vices  of  his  enemies  were  even  now  imputed  to  him  and  his  sup- 


ON  COLUMBUS.  325 

porters.  Such  was  the  highest  achievement  of  the  ungrateful 
Aguado,  who,  having  collected  an  immense  mass  of  documen 
tary  testimonies,  forming,  as  he  supposed,  an  unanswerable  in 
dictment  against  Columbus,  he  prepared  to  return  to  Spain  to 
consummate  his  ruin.  Thus,  in  both  hemispheres,  was  Colum 
bus  slandered  and  plotted  against.  He  resolved  also  to  return 
to  Spain,  and  to  meet  all  his  enemies  and  all  their  calumnies  at 
the  royal  court  and  imperial  tribunal.  The  ships  were  ready  to 
depart. 

At  this  juncture,  and  just  as  the  fleet  was  about  to  sail,  a  storm 
truly  American  in  character  and  violence,  and  such  as  was 
unknown  in  Europe,  suddenly  burst  upon  the  island  and  defeated 
every  project.  It  was  of  unprecedented  violence  and  disaster, 
even  in  the  West  Indies.  It  possessed  the  terror  of  storms  pre 
ceding  volcanic  eruptions,  bringing  all  the  elements  of  air,  fog, 
cloud,  vapor,  and  water  in  violent  struggle  against  each  other 
and  against  the  earth,  with  prevailing  darkness  and  terrific  light 
ning.  Huge  forests  were  prostrated,  groves  laid  waste,  moun 
tains  rent,  and  masses  of  rock  hurled  below  to  choke  the  rivers  ; 
and  the  earth  seemed  threatened  with  its  primeval  chaos.  The 
inhabitants  fled  for  shelter  to  the  caverns.  The  expectant  and 
ready  fleet  was  struck  with  equal  violence  ;  the  ships  were  tossed 
and  whirled  around,  cables  snapped,  anchors  were  useless,  and 
all  but  one  of  the  ships  was  sunk  with  all  on  board,  or  wrecked. 
So  unprecedented  was  the  tempest,  that  the  Indians  supersti- 
tiously  attributed  it,  as  they  now  attributed  all  their  misfortunes, 
to  these  new  invaders  of  their  country.* 

The  Nina,  that  stanch  little  caravel  which  had  participated  in 
the  first  voyage  of  the  great  discoverer,  which  had  succored 
Columbus  in  his  shipwreck  at  La  Navidad,  had  carried  him  back 
to  Spain  through  terrific  and  unprecedented  European  storms, 
and  now,  under  the  name  of  the  Santa  Clara,  had  borne  him 
through  the  navigation  of  Cuba  and  the  discovery  of  Jamaica 

*  Barry's  translation  of  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  pp.  334-336  ;  Ramusio,  torn.  Hi., 
p.  7  ;  Herrera,  "Hist.  Ind.,"  decad.  5.,  lib.  ii.,  cap.  18  ;  Peter  Martyr,  decad.  i.,  lib. 
iv.  ;  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  63-69. 

The  Indian  name  for  such  a  storm  was  "  furicane,"  or  "  uricane,"  from  which  is 
derived  our  present  English  word  hurricane.  It  has  been  adopted  into  the  Spanish, 
French,  Italian,  German,  Danish,  and  other  European  languages,  as  Webster  relates, 
and  he  ascribes  to  it  a  Carib  origin.  Such  tempests  are  also  said  to  prevail  in  the 
East  Indies. 


326  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

and  the  Queen's  Gardens,  was  the  only  unvvrecked  ship  of  the 
fleet.  Columbus  ordered  this  talismanic  ship,  the  vessel  of  his 
fortunes,  but  now  dismantled,  to  be  repaired,  and  a  new  one, 
the  Santa  Cruz,  to  be  built  with  the  wrecks  of  the  other  ships. 

Among  the  accusations  made  against  him  at  court  was  the 
charge  that  he  had  falsely  misrepresented  as  rich  in  gold  the 
country  which,  as  the  accusers  alleged,  was  destitute  of  precious 
metals.  This  accusation  was  bolstered  up  by  the  false  assays  of 
the  pretended  metallurgist,  Firmin  Cado.  While  his  vindication 
was  already  prepared  by  himself  and  his  brothers,  with  consum 
mate  ability,  on  all  points,  his  cause  seemed  now  suddenly  and 
unexpectedly  vindicated  by  the  arrival  of  news  of  the  discovery 
of  the  gold-mines  of  Hayna.  Some  months  previously  a  young 
Aragonian,  Miguel  Diaz,  attached  to  the  service  of  the  Adelantado, 
Don  Bartholomew  Columbus,  had  wounded  his  enemy  in  a  duel, 
and  fearing  the  inflexible  sternness  of  that  strict  disciplinarian, 
had  fled,  with  five  or  six  of  his  companions  or  associates  in  the 
quarrel,  to  the  remote  southern  portion  of  the  island.  In  their 
wanderings  the  deserters  came  to  an  Indian  village  on  the  banks 
of  the  Ozema  River,  near  where  the  present  city  of  San  Domingo 
stands.  The  female  cacique  of  the  village  received  and  enter 
tained  the  strangers  with  hospitality  ;  they  tarried  ;  the  princess 
became  enamored  of  the  gallant  leader,  and  she  became  a  Chris 
tian  in  order  to  marry  him,  taking  the  name  of  Catalina,  though 
no  formal  ceremony  could  have  taken  place  at  the  time  in  the 
absence  of  priest  or  missionary.  In  time,  however,  Miguel  Diaz, 
feeling,  in  common  with  his  companions,  a  longing  desire  to  return 
to  the  society  and  civilization  of  his  countrymen,  such  as  they 
were  in  that  corner  of  the  western  world,  so  remote  from  the 
mother  country,  became  not  unfrequently  sad  or  thoughtful, 
notwithstanding  the  blandishments  and  charms  of  the  fair  Cata 
lina.  With  the  unerring  intuitiveness  of  true  love,  always  inr 
stinct  with  solicitude  and  ingenious  in  plans,  whether  at  the  most 
polished  courts  of  Europe  or  in  the  ungilded  Indian  palace  cabins 
of  the  western  world,  Catalina  perceived  the  change,  and  beset 
herself  to  remove,  by  a  lover's  expedient,  the  danger  she  felt  of 
losing  her  gallant  and  handsome  lord,  now  the  virtual  cacique  of 
the  tribe.  She  knew  that  his  love  was  shared  by  another  di vinity, 
and  that  was  no  other  than  the  goddess  of  gold.  She  devised  a 
plan  for  anchoring  the  lover  to  her  royal  bowers,  even  thru  :': 


ON   COLUMBUS.  327 

it  might  transfer  her  country  to  the  grasp  of  the  stranger  race. 
She  communicated  to  Diaz  the  intelligence  that  rich  mines  of 
gold  lay  at  Hayna,  in  her  dominions,  not  over  fifty  leagues  dis 
tant,  and  she  even  invited,  through  him,  the  whole  Spanish 
colony  of  Isabella  to  abandon  the  latter  spot,  which  she  repre 
sented  as  unhealthy  ;  and  she  urged  them,  through  him,  to  settle 
permanently  in  her  country.  Her  country  was  to  become  his 
country,  while  his  God  should  become  her  God.  Diaz  saw  in 
this  an  opportunity  to  retrieve  his  name  and  fortune,  and  to  con 
done  his  offence.  After  confirmation  of  Catalina's  statements  by 
the  concurrent  statements  of  the  natives  about  the  mines,  and 
after  observing  how  beautiful,  fertile,  and  salubrious  the  country 
was,  and  yielding  to  the  enticing  offers  of  his  Indian  queen,  he 
succeeded  with  the  aid  of  native  guides  in  finding  his  way  back 
to  the  vicinity  of  Isabella.  He  learned  that  his  antagonist  in  the 
duel  was  living  and  convalescent.  Knowing  that  he  brought 
with  him  the  assurances  of  his  own  pardon,  he  entered  the  city, 
presented  himself  to  the  stern  but  politic  Adelantado,  communi 
cated  the  grateful  news,  was  welcomed  by  that  official,  recon 
ciled  to  his  enemy,  and  received  his  pardon  and  that  of  the 
Adelantado  conditionally. 

The  Adelantado  proceeded  in  person  and  without  delay  to 
visit  the  enchanted  and  golden  region  of  Hayna,  accompanied 
by  Diaz  himself,  Francisco  de  Garay,  the  Indian  guides,  and  an 
adequate  number  of  well-armed  Spanish  soldiers,  in  order  to  in 
sure  the  safety  of  the  expedition.  Proceeding  southward,  first 
by  Magdalena,  thence  across  the  Royal  Vega  by  the  fortress  of 
Conception,  thence  through  a  mountain  defile  and  across  a 
beautiful  plain  rivalling  the  Royal  Vega,  and  called  Bonao,  they 
reached  the  river  Hayna,  upon  whose  western  bank  the  glitter 
ing  and  coveted  treasures  were  found  in  quantities  and  sizes  suffi- 
•cient  to  delight  the  eyes  and  ravish  the  hearts  of  the  Spaniards. 
The  golden  deposits  exceeded  anything  of  the  kind  yet  discov 
ered,  even  those  of  Cibao.  Over  a  space  of  country  six  miles  in 
breadth,  the  precious  metal  so  abounded  that  an  ordinary  laborer 
could  easily  collect  the  amount  of  three  drams  in  a  single  day. 
Excavations,  apparently  old,  in  the  golden  region  indicated  that 
the  mines  had  been  regularly  worked,  a  circumstance  which  had 
its  natural  effect  in  starting  the  Spanish  mind  to  rush  into  the 
realms  of  fancy  and  speculation.  Indian  hospitality  also  in  this 


328  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

favored  region  was  as  unlimited  as  the  precious  ore,  and  the 
country  was  blessed  in  soil  and  climate  beyond  the  descriptions 
of  Miguel  Diaz.  Love  and  lucre  have  often  in  history  been  inti 
mate  companions.  Diaz  was  now  pardoned  unconditionally  ;  he 
received  not  only  signal  favors,  but  was  given  employments  of 
honor  and  trust,  to  which  he  proved  himself  as  faithful  as  he  did 
then  and  ever  after  to  his  Catalina,  who  was  then  regularly 
baptized  and  married,  and  whose  constancy  was  rewarded  with 
Christian  offspring  and  Spanish  friendship  and  protection. 

"  'Tis  gold 

Which  makes  the  true  man  kill'd,  and  saves  the  thief  ; 
Nay,  sometimes  hangs  both  thief  and  true  man  :  What 
Can  it  not  do,  and  undo?" 

— SHAKESPEARE'S  "CYMBELINE." 

When  the  Adelantado  returned  to  Isabella  with  the  tidings  of 
the  rich  treasures  of  Hayna  and  with  the  valuable  specimens  of 
the  golden  ores,  the  admiral  lost  sight  of  his  troubles  of  state 
and  of  administration  in  his  gratitude  to  God  for  this  providen 
tial  and  direct  intervention  in  his  favor,  especially  at  the  moment 
when  all  the  world  seemed  turned  against  him.  The  anxieties 
of  his  mind  and  heart  were  much  relieved.  He  thanked  with 
generous  gratitude  his  ever-faithful  brother  and  the  constant 
Miguel  Diaz  for  their  welcome  tidings  and  services,  and  with 
prompt  energy  took  measures  for  securing  the  advantages  which 
should  flow  from  this  timely  discovery.  A  fortress  was  ordered 
to  be  erected  on  the  banks  of  the  Hayna,  near  the  mines,  and  the 
mines  were  directed  to  be  worked  with  effective  and  diligent 
effort.  The  admiral,  as  his  whole  life  marvellously  illustrates, 
united  to  the  most  practical  and  sagacious  ability  for  business  a 
wonderful  proneness  to  indulge  in  speculative  and  hopeful  fancies 
based  upon  his  study  of  the  great  geographical  and  cosmographi- 
cal  writers  of  the  world.  His  conjecture  that  Hispaniola  was 
the  Ophir  of  Solomon,  and  that  its  treasures  had  built  the  temple 
of  the  true  God  at  Jerusalem,  were  now  confirmed,  and  the 
route  by  water  from  the  Holy  Land  by  the  Persian  Gulf 
to  Hispaniola  wa§  made  manifest,  for  Cuba  was  now  dem 
onstrated  to  be  the  extremity  of  Asia.  The  disputes  of  scholars 
over  the  location  of  Ophir  were  now  settled  ;  the  riches  of  that 
treasure  land  had  not  been  exhausted  by  Solomon,  but  now  its 
exhaustless  deposits  of  richest  ores  would  reimburse  his  generous 


ON   COLUMBUS.  329 

sovereigns.  The  new  crusade,  which  would  be  known  in  history 
as  the  Columbian  Crusade,  would  be  successful  in  redeeming  the 
Holy  Sepulchre  from  Moslem  desecration,  and  in  placing  it  under 
the  protection  of  an  armed  Christendom.  His  generous  nature 
now  exulted  only  in  the  good  he  could  and  would  accomplish. 
No  vain  or  sordid  thoughts  swelled  his  breast,  for 

"  But  honor,  virtue's  meed, 
Doth  bear  the  fairest  flower  in  honorable  seed." 

— SPENSER'S  "  FAERIE  QUHENE." 

The  fortress  and  the  mines  of  Hayna  were  called  St.  Chris 
topher,  after  the  admiral's  titular  saint.  Don  Bartholomew 
Columbus  was  invested  with  the  powers  of  lieutenant-governor 
under  the  title  of  Adelantado,  and  Francisco  Roldan  was  desig 
nated  as  superior  magistrate  of  the  island,  for  he  was  one  of  his 
personal  suite,  whom  he  appointed  judge  of  the  first  resort. 
Zealous  ever  for  the  conversion  of  the  natives,  the  admiral  formed 
the  mission  with  the  best  material  he  possessed,  and  appointed 
the  Franciscan  Father  Juan  Bergognon  chief  missionary,  and 
gave  him  as  his  Assistant  the  Poor  Hermit,  Friar  Pane,  who  was 
now  well  versed  in  the  native  dialects.  Such  was  the  irritated 
feeling  among  the  natives,  in  consequence  of  their  harsh  experi 
ences  of  Spanish  rule,  that  they  had  unfortunately  conceived  a 
low  estimate  of  the  religion  of  the  Spaniards,  and  felt  in  their 
hearts  deep  though  suppressed  sentiments  of  resentment.  Since 
their  own  religious  faith  and  observance  were  simple,  not  deeply 
rooted,  and  almost  wholly  destitute  of  formal  dogmas  and  sym 
bols,  the  introduction  of  Christianity  would  have  proved  an  easy 
work  had  proper  measures  and  men  been  used  to  this  end  ;  but 
rancor  was  kept  alive  in  the  hearts  of  the  natives  by  the  recent 
outrages  perpetrated  upon  them.  The  Poor  Hermit  was  timor 
ous  at  the  dangers  of  his  mission  to  the  Indians  of  the  interior, 
and  requested  the  admiral  to  give  him  some  Christian  companions 
in  his  solitude,  a  request  which  was  readily  granted  to  his  own 
selection,  and  for  greater  precaution  a  military  post  of  infantry 
was  established  near  the  residence  of  the  missionaries.  Having 
done  all  in  his  power  to  provide  for  the  temporal,  political,  and 
spiritual  needs  of  his  viceregal  dominions  and  of  his  new  sub 
jects,  the  admiral,  at  the  end  of  February,  embarked  on  board 


330  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

his  old  and  faithful  caravel,  the  Santa  Clara,  while  Aguado 
sailed  in  the  new  caravel,  the  Santa  Cruz.  March  loth,  1496, 
was  the  day  the  two  vessels  sailed  out  of  the  port  of  Isa 
bella,  carrying  besides  the  crews  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 
sick,  discontented,  and  disappointed  hidalgos,  and  thirty-two 
Indians.  Among  the  latter  were  the  unfortunate  but  ever-proud 
and  unbending  Caonabo,  his  brother,  a  son,  and  a  nephew.  In 
consequence  of  the  want  of  familiarity  with  the  navigation  of 
those  waters  and  of  unfavorable  winds,  Columbus,  as  late  as 
April  6th,  had  not  proceeded  beyond  the  Caribbee  Islands.  His 
provisions  were  low,  his  men  fatigued  by  battling  with  the 
weather,  and  many  were  sick.  Touching  at  Margarite  and  land 
ing  at  Guadeloupe,  where  he  procured  three  weeks'  supply  of 
bread,  and  where  the  inhabitants  were  a  race  of  Amazonian 
women,  well  capable  of  defending  their  homes  against  all  save 
Europeans  in  the  absence  of  their  husbands,  he  sailed  thence  on 
his  homeward  voyage  on  April  2oth.  The  Amazons  resisted  the 
landing  of  the  Spaniards,  who,  however,  landed  and  took  several 
of  them  prisoners  ;  but  on  sailing  Columbus  sent  them  back  to  their 
homes,  with  the  exception  of  the  female  cacique,  who  had  fallen 
in  love  with  the  captive,  and  preferred  to  share  the  ill  fortunes  of 
the  noble  Caonabo.  During  the  voyage  provisions  became  so 
scarce  that  all  on  board  had  to  go  on  short  rations,  and,  in  their 
sufferings  for  food,  some  of  the  Spaniards  went  so  far  as  to  pro 
pose  the  killing  and  eating  of  their  Indian  captives  ;  others,  to 
throw  them  overboard.  The  latter  unjust  counsel  prevailed, 
and  the  resolution  to  do  so  was  formed  and  announced.  Colum 
bus  nobly  stood  by  the  Indians,  whose  right  to  live  was  equal  to 
that  of  the  most  favored  nations  of  the  earth.  The  resolution, 
which  was  announced,  to  throw  these  helpless  captives  into  the 
sea  in  order  to  lessen  the  demand  for  food,  and  thus  make  the 
rations  last  longer,  was  indignantly  rejected  by  the  admiral, 
who  ordered  that  all  should  fare  alike.  The  death  of  Caonabo  on 
the  voyage  has  already  been  mentioned.  The  two  vessels,  after  a 
voyage  of  three  months,  anchored  in  the  Bay  of  Cadiz,  on  June 
i  ith.  The  admiral,  when  his  crews  were  threatened  with  starva 
tion  and  the  Indians  with  death,  and  when  he  saved  their  lives 
by  his  magnanimous  decision  and  undaunted  will  against  the 
combined  crews  of  both  ships,  had  promised  that  in  three  days 
the  ships  would  reach  the  waters  of  Cape  St.  Vincent.  The 


ON   COLUMBUS.  331 

sailors  and  pilots,  who  had  scoffed  at  his  prediction,  when  it  was 
verified  were  struck  with  awe  ;  they  had  seen  his  prophetic 
words  several  times  before  verified  under  similar  circumstances, 
when  they  knew  not  the  source  of  his  information.  They  now 
regarded  him  as  either  calling  to  his  aid  the  secrets  of  magic,  or 
as  guided  by  an  inspiration  from  Heaven. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

'  Know,  smiler  !  at  thy  peril  art  thou  pleased  } 
Thy  pleasure  is  the  promise  of  thy  pain. 
Misfortune,  like  a  creditor  severe, 
But  rises  in  demand  for  her  delay  ; 
She  makes  a  scourge  of  past  prosperity, 
To  sting  the  more,  and  double  thy  distress.' 

— YOUNG'S  "  NIGHT  THOUGHTS." 

IN  the  harbor  of  Cadiz,  before  landing,  Columbus  met  three 
caravels  under  Pedro  Alonzo  Nino,  about  to  sail  with  provisions 
for  the  colony  of  Hispaniola,  the  relief  sent  out  in  January  hav 
ing  perished  by  the  shipwreck  of  the  four  caravels  then  de 
spatched.  He  also  received  from  Nino  the  letters  and  despatches 
of  the  sovereigns,  and  it  was  fortunate  that  he  now  had  an  oppor 
tunity  of  reading  them  before  the  departure  of  the  ships.  He 
rewrote  his  instructions  to  his  brother,  dwelling  chiefly  on  the 
importance  of  securing  peace,  of  putting  the  island  in  a  condition 
to  meet  the  king's  expectations  of  reimbursement  and  profits,  on 
arresting  rebellious  caciques  and  sending  them  to  Spain,  and  of 
working  the  mines  of  Hayna,  near  which  a  seaport  should  be 
established.  This  was  the  first  conception  of  the  future  city  of 
San  Domingo.  The  caravels  on  June  i/th  sailed  for  Hispaniola, 
and  Columbus  landed,  after  having  won  the  hearts  of  many  of 
the  sick  on  board  his  own  vessel  by  his  kind  and  unsparing 
nursing  and  generous  attentions,  for  they  were  prejudiced 
against  him  on  leaving  Isabella,  and  heard  only  now  of  the 
unworthy  treatment  he  had  received  from  Aguado. 

While  the  popularity  of  the  admiral  had  been  impaired  by  the 
calumnies  of  his  enemies  at  court,  the  arrival  of  Aguado  with  his 
mass  of  documents  hostile  to  his  administration,  and  the  unsightly 
appearance  of  the  sick  and  dispirited  colonists  returning  in  dis 
gust  from  the  colony,  many  of  whom  were  hidalgos  and  persons 
of  consideration,  did  not  improve  the  impressions  of  the  popu 
lace  in  regard  to  the  new  world.  Aguado,  Fonseca,  and  their 
co-conspirators  now  became  busy  in  misusing  and  torturing 


ON   COLUMBUS.  333 

everything  to  the  discredit  of  the  noted  discoverer.  To  the 
calumnies  of  Margarite  and  Father  Boil  were  now  added  the 
accusations  of  the  commander  Gallego,  of  Rodrigo  Abarca,  of 
Micer  Girao,  and  of  Pedro  Navarro,  all  of  whom  were  servitors 
of  the  royal  household  and  persons  of  weight,  though  unjustly 
prejudiced  against  Columbus.  His  detractors  were  now  multi 
plied  by  the  arrival  of  so  many  sick,  dejected,  and  unsuccessful 
colonists  and  adventurers.  The  air  rang  loudly  with  complaints 
against  the  one  whose  triumphant  entry  into  Palos  three  years 
before  as  the  discoverer  of  a  new  world  had  filled  the  air  with 
salvos  of  joy  which  had  scarcely  yet  died  away.  Now  he  could 
scarcely  find  audience  for  his  recitals  of  the  great  progress  since 
made  in  his  advancing  discoveries  of  the  western  world  :  the 
exploration  ol  Cuba,  which  was  now  the  supposed  newly  dis 
covered  continent,  and  the  conjectured  attainment  of  a  long- 
cherished  dream  of  the  learned  and  the  great — the  geographical 
and  maritime  accessibility  of  Europe  and  Asia  to  each  other  by 
the  northwestern  oceanic  route,  the  approach  to  the  Aurea  Cher- 
sonesus  of  antiquity,  the  discovery  of  mines  which  were  then 
believed  to  be  identical  with  the  Ophir  of  Solomon.  He  had 
been  the  hero  of  a  day  ;  now  he  was  regarded  as  the  ruin  of 
thousands,  the  deceiver  of  the  world,  the  adventurer  in  unknown 
realms,  the  champion  of  a  worthless  and  delusive  theory,  the 
Genoese  dreamer.  Sneers  greeted  him  whom  all  Spain  had  so 
lately  triumphantly  honored  and  enthusiastically  admired  and 
revered. 

Columbus  announced  his  arrival  in  Spain  to  the  sovereigns, 
and  awaited  with  dignity  and  loyalty  their  orders.  All  Spain 
was  aware  of  the  difficulties  of  his  situation,  and  he  felt  most 
keenly  the  difference  between  his  reception  then  and  the  ovation 
he  received  on  his  first  return  as  the  discoverer  of  a  new  hemi 
sphere.  What  effect  were  the  machinations  and  slanders  of  his 
enemies,  powerful  in  numbers,  in  position,  and  in  influence  to 
have  in  the  minds  of  the  court  ?  Being  a  deeply  devout  man, 
he  now  took  refuge  from  an  unjust  and  ungrateful  world  in  the 
consolations  of  religion.  For  one  month  he  seems  to  have  been 
lost  to  the  world  and  to  history,  but  he  was  not  lost  to  himself 
or  to  his  God.  He  retired  from  the  public  gaze,  spent  his  time 
in  prayer  and  devotion,  and  so  deeply  disgusted  was  he  with  all 
worldly  affairs,  that  when  he  made  his  appearance  on  the  streets 


334  OLD  AND  NEW   LIGHTS 

of  Seville,  he  was  dressed  in  the  monastic  habit  of  St.  Francis, 
wore  the  coarse  cord  of  that  order  around  his  waist,  and  his  beard 
was  long  and  flowing,  like  that  of  the  Franciscan  monks.  It 
would  seem  that  he  came  from  his  ship  in  this  mediaeval  garb, 
and  Oviedo  says  that  this  was  through  his  disgust  for  the  world 
and  mortification  at  his  wrongs.*  Washington  Irving  conjec 
tures,  but  erroneously  as  is  generally  thought,  that  this  strange 
and  penitential  garb  was  assumed  in  the  performance  of  some 
vow  he  had  made  to  Heaven  on  the  voyage. f  Las  Casas  him 
self  writes  that  he  saw  the  admiral  in  Seville  dressed  somewhat 
like  a  Franciscan  monk,  though  the  habit  was  not  as  long  as  that 
worn  by  the  Franciscans.:}:  The  Curate  of  Los  Palacios  at  this 
time  received  a  visit  from  him,  and  relates  that  his  dress,  in  its 
shape  and  color,  and  his  beard  in  its  length,  resembled  those  of 
the  Order  of  St.  Francis  of  the  Strict  Observance.  This  author 
also  mentions  his  entertaining  the  admiral  and  his  Indian  captives 
for  several  days  in  his  residence,  and  that  he  had  been  shown 
and  held  in  his  hand  the  massive  chain  of  gold  which  was  after 
ward  worn  by  the  brother  of  Caonabo  in  the  visit  to  the  court 
at  Burgos. §  Humboldt,  on  the  other  hand,  attributes  this  wear 
ing  of  the  Franciscan  dress  to  the  characteristic  and  well-known 
pious  and  devout  tendency  of  the  admiral's  mind.j;  His  fond 
ness  for  the  Franciscan  Order  is  well  known,  and  the  Count  de 
Lorgues,  who  especially  dwells  throughout  his  "  Life  of  Colum 
bus"  upon  his  religious  life  and  character,  concurs  with  Hum 
boldt,  and  even  says  that  there  is  reason  for  believing  that  the 
admiral  seriously  meditated  on  following  his  friend,  Father  Juan 
Perez  de  Marchena,  the  Franciscan,  to  the  Convent  of  La  Rabida, 
which  was  celebrated  as  one  of  the  consecrated  cloisters  of  the 
Franciscans. 

However  this  may  be,  after  one  month's  delay  we  see  him 
again  assuming  his  historical  character  as  the  discoverer  of  new 
worlds  ;  for  the  letter  of  the  sovereigns,  bearing  date  at  Almazan 
on  July  1 2th,  1496,  called  him  to  court  as  soon  as  he  was  recov- 


*  Oviedo  y  Valdez,  "  Hist.  Nat.  y  Gen.,"  etc.,  lib.  ii.,  chap.  xiii. 
f  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  84. 

$  Las  Casas,  "  La  Historia  de  las  Indias,"  lib.  i.,  chap,  ii.,  MS. 
§  Cura  de  Los  Palacios,  cap.  131  ;  Andres  Bernaldez,  "  Hist,  de  los  Reyes,"  cat., 
chap,  vii.,  MS. 

|  Humboldt,  "Hist,  de  laGeograph.  du  Nouveau  Continent,"  torn,  i.,  p.  22. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  335 

ered  from  the  fatigues  of  his  late  voyage,  and  congratulated 
him  on  his  safe  return.  He  lost  no  time  in  making  his  journey 
to  Burgos,  and  on  the  way  he  endeavored  to  dispel  the  calumnies 
of  his  foes  and  the  general  depreciation  of  his  achievements  by 
displaying  his  Indian  captives  decked  in  collars  and  chains  of 
massive  gold,  with  bracelets,  anklets,  and  coronets  of  the  same 
precious  metal  ;  and  he  exhibited  the  masks,  images  of  wood  or 
cotton,  and  other  objects  of  value  or  curiosity,  trophies  of  his 
conquests  over  the  princes  and  kings  of  the  extreme  regions  of 
Asia  and  the  eastern  islands.  It  was  thus  that  Roman  con 
querors  made  their  triumphant  entries  into  the  Imperial  City, 
bringing  in  their  train  the  vanquished  sovereigns  and  the  booty 
wrung  from  barbaric  nations  then  transformed  into  subjects  of 
Rome.  In  both  cases  it  was  necessary  to  convince  the  minds  of 
the  populace  of  the  efficacy  and  grandeur  of  the  conquests, 
though  Mr.  Irving,  forgetting  that  it  was  in  the  days  of  Colum 
bus  impossible  for  the  people  to  foresee  tfre  rising  of  free  and 
mighty  nations  in  the  west  and  in  the  route  which  Columbus  had 
opened,  deprecates  the  petty  standard  by  which  his  sublime  dis 
covery  was  judged — a  standard  not  rising  above  the  transient 
and  dazzling  effect  of  golden  trinkets  and  glaring  trifles.  It 
would  have  required  a  prophetic  vision  for  the  people  of  that 
or  of  any  day  to  have  anticipated  the  unparalleled  spectacle  of 
boundless  progress,  of  empires  and  republics  extending  from 
ocean  to  ocean,  and  the  great  and  marvellous  achievements  in 
civilization,  arts,  sciences,  mechanics,  material  wealth,  national 
grandeur,  and  human  liberty  now  displayed  by  two  continents 
at  the  quarto-centennial  celebration  of  the  Columbian  discovery. 
The  sovereigns  received  Columbus  with  distinction  and  honor, 
and  the  gracious  manner  of  their  princely  conduct  lifted  a  heavy 
load  from  the  heart  of  the  discoverer.  No  allusion  was  made  to 
the  complaints  preferred  against  him.  Whatever  transient  effect 
the  slanders  of  his  enemies  had  produced  on  their  minds  was 
immediately  removed  by  the  exalted  character,  the  past  services, 
the  constant  loyalty,  the  candor,  and  by  the  very  appearance  of 
the  admiral  before  them.  As  he  unfolded  to  the  sovereigns  the 
progress  of  the  great  enterprise,  the  condition  of  the  colony,  the 
discovery  of  the  Caribbees,  of  Jamaica,  of  the  Queen's  Gardens, 
and  the  exploration  of  Cuba  ;  spoke  of  the  mines  of  Cibao  and 
Hayna  ;  showed  the  masks,  cinctures  and  purses  decked  or  filled 


336  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

with  the  precious  ores  from  them,  and  nuggets  as  large  as  nuts 
from  Hayna  ;  exhibited  and  presented  the  animals,  birds,  and 
plants  of  the  new  countries,  and  the  sacred  stones,  images,  arms, 
and  instruments  of  the  natives,  both  sovereigns  became  ravished 
with  the  interest  and  charm  with  which  they  invested  their  new 
dominions.  They  loaded  him  with  kindnesses,  and  publicly 
honored  their  successful  and  loyal  viceroy,  greatly  to  the  chagrin 
of  his  enemies.  The  queen,  in  an  especial  manner,  thanked  him 
for  his  great  services  and  for  his  loyal  aid  and  counsel  at  the 
time  of  the  departure  of  the  Infanta  Donna  Juana  for  Flanders, 
to  join  her  husband,  Archduke  Philip  of  Austria. 

Whether  at  this  interview  or  subsequently  is  not  clear,  but 
the  undertaking  of  further  explorations  and  discoveries,  the  seek 
ing  out  of  the  mainland  or  continent,  and  the  vigorous  working 
of  the  mines  were  measures  then  or  soon  afterward  decided 
upon,  and  for  these  great  ends  Columbus  proposed  and  the 
sovereigns  ordered  a  third  voyage  under  his  command.  During 
some  delay,  growing  out  of  the  queen's  engrossed  attention  with 
the  marriage  and  departure  of  her  daughter,  the  Infanta  Donna 
Juana,  and  the  reception  of  the  Princess  Margaret,  thejf&twft  of 
the  Infante  Don  Juan,  Columbus  availed  himself  of  his  enforced 
residence  at  Burgos  to  cultivate  the  personal  and  professional 
acquaintance  of  the  celebrated  Jayme  Ferrer,  the  lapidary,  with 
whom  he  had  already  corresponded  from  Hispaniola  at  the 
queen's  request.  This  eminent  scientist  of  his  day,  in  a  letter 
to  the  queen,  thus  expresses  his  high  and  prophetic  appreciation 
of  the  man  that  discovered  America  :  "  I  believe  that  in  its  high 
and  mysterious  designs  Divine  Providence  has  chosen  him  as  its 
mandatory  for  this  work,  which  seems  to  me  to  be  but  an  intro 
duction  and  a  preparation  for  things  which  this  same  Divine 
Providence  reserves  to  itself  to  disclose  to  us,  for  its  own  glory 
and  the  salvation  and  happiness  of  the  world."  * 

Though  the  Spanish  sovereigns  had  promised  to  comply  with 
the  request  of  Columbus  for  the  outfit  of  another  voyage,  his 
work  was  delayed  by  many  unfortunate  incidents — the  am 
bitious  foreign  policy  of  Ferdinand  ;  for  not  only  was  he  involved 
in  an  adroit  combination  of  schemes  in  regard  to  France,  but  he 


*  "  Coleccion  Diplomatica,"  doc.  num.  Ixviii.  ;  Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "Columbus," 
P-  349- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  337 

had  resolved  on  seizing  the  Neapolitan  throne,  and  was  nego 
tiating  that  matrimonial  alliance — a  deeply  laid  scheme  of  parental 
and  imperial  ambition — which  subsequently  made  his  grandson, 
Charles  V.,  the  emperor  and  ruler  of  a  great  part  of  Europe. 
Armies  of  immense  numbers  had  to  be  maintained  at  Naples,  and 
on  the  Spanish  frontier  next  to  France  large  squadrons  of  ships 
had  to  be  kept  afloat  to  guard  his  interests  in  the  Mediterranean. 
His  dynastic  ambition  cost  the  royal  exchequer  immense  sums  of 
money,  for  at  this  very  time  he  had  sent  that  grand  and  costly 
Armada,  consisting  of  more  than  one  hundred  vessels  and  con 
taining  twenty  thousand  of  his  subjects  on  board,  and  among 
them  many  of  the  very  flower  of  the  Spanish  nobility,  to  escort 
to  Flanders  the  Princess  Juana  to  be  married  to  Philip,  Arch 
duke  of  Austria.  The  same  magnificent  convoy  was  to  return 
to  Spain  with  the  archduke's  sister,  Margarita,  who  was  the 
fiancee  of  the  Infante  and  Prince  Royal  of  Spain,  Prince  Juan. 
It  was  thus  that  while  Spanish  dominion  was  being  extended  to 
embrace  great  empires  in  the  new  world,  through  the  genius  and 
loyal  services  of  Columbus,  diplomacy  and  arms,  blended  with 
family  alliances,  were  concentrating  in  his  dynasty  the  choicest 
empires  of  Europe.  These  great  undertakings,  both  at  the  west 
and  the  east,  had  depleted  the  royal  treasury,  and  Columbus  had 
to  wait.  The  king,  one  of  the  most  calculating  of  men,  had  re 
strained  his  appreciation  for  Columbus  within  narrow  and  chill 
ing  bounds,  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  gold  returned  from 
the  west  ;  but  it  was  the  queen  chiefly,  who,  in  the  midst  of 
most  anxious  family  and  maternal  solicitudes,  never  lost  sight  of 
the  grand  work  he  was  doing  for  his  country,  and  sustained  the 
more  glorious  and  enduring  work  of  discovery  and  conquest  in 
the  new  world.  While  the  king  was  reserved,  and  the  Bureau 
of  the  Indies,  with  Bishop  Fonseca  at  its  head,  was  openly  hos 
tile,  Columbus  was  sustained  by  the  ardent  sympathy  and  sub 
stantial  rewards  of  the  queen.  By  royal  edict  his  dignities, 
rights,  and  offices  were  confirmed  as  amply  as  they  were  first 
granted  at  Santa  F6,  and  a  principality  of  fifty  leagues  in  length 
by  twenty-five  in  breadth  in  Hispaniola,  in  a  quarter  to  be 
selected  by  himself,  with  the  title  of  duke  or  marquis,  was  offered 
to  him.  But  Columbus,  while  tenaciously  adhering  to  his  rights 
as  previously  conceded,  had  the  good  judgment  and  forbearance 
to  decline  a  gift,  magnificent  as  it  was,  but  which  would  have 


338  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

made  him  more  than  ever  the  object  of  envy,  malice,  and  mis 
representation.  But  he  relinquished  his  share  of  the  returns 
from  the  past  voyages,  on  being  relieved  from  his  share  of  the 
expense  of  them,  which  was  one  eighth  ;  but  he  was  not  released 
from  the  share  of  expense  he  had  incurred  for  the  first  voyage. 
He  was  now  to  receive  for  three  years  one  eighth  of  the  gross 
results  of  each  voyage,  and,  moreover,  a  tenth  of  the  net  profits, 
and  after  this  term  the  first  arrangement  of  division  was  to  re 
vive  in  force.  While  historians  generally  attribute  to  Columbus 
the  motive  we  have  assigned  for  his  declining  the  principality  in 
Hispaniola  offered  him  by  the  queen,  the  Count  de  Lorgues, 
with  forensic  effort  rather  than  historical  truth,  contends  that  this 
motive  was  beneath  his  exalted  character  and  unselfish  nature, 
and  that  his  true  motive  was  to  leave  himself  free  to  continue 
his  great  discoveries  until  he  had  made  the  circuit  of  the  whole 
globe,  and  to  devote  his  efforts  to  the  redemption  of  the  Holy 
Land  rather  than  divert  his  mind  from  these  grand  purposes  by 
centring  his  thoughts  and  aspirations  to  the  maintenance  and 
care  of  such  an  estate,  even  though  it  afforded  him  an  oppor 
tunity  of  founding  a  powerful  house  for  his  second  son,  while 
transmitting  his  titles  and  dignities  of  Admiral  of  the  Ocean  and 
Viceroy  of  the  Indies  to  his  elder  son.  "  In  him,"  says  the  over 
wrought  Count  de  Lorgues,  ' '  the  apostle  got  the  mastery  over 
the  head  of  the  family."  * 

The  admiral,  however,  instead  of  the  principality,  was  en 
dowed  now  with  the  privilege  of  founding  a  mayorazgo,  or  per 
petual  entail  of  his  estates,  thus  giving  the  lineal  and  united 
descent  of  his  estates  and  titles  to  his  eldest  male  branch,  and 
thus,  too,  by  the  entail,  perpetuating  the  renown  of  his  illustrious 
deeds.  He  accordingly  exercised  this  high  prerogative  by  his 
will,  which  was  made  at  Seville  early  in  1498,  and  by  which  he 
entailed  his  titles  and  estates  on  his  male  descendants  ;  on  failure 
of  these,  on  his  brothers  and  their  male  descendants  ;  and,  on 
failure  of  these  last,  then  to  the  lineal  females  of  his  stock.  Such 
entailed  heir  was  to  bear  the  coat-of-arms  of  the  admiral,  and  in 
his  official  signature  to  use  only  the  title  of  admiral,  without 
regard  to  the  other  numerous  titles  he  might  enjoy.  The  views 
and  aspirations  of  Columbus  in  respect  to  his  dignities,  honors, 


Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  p.  352. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  339 

titles,  and  estates  not  only  during  his  lifetime,  but  also  for  his 
descendants  and  collaterals  for  all  time,  were  in  keeping  with 
his  own  tenacious  knowledge  and  appreciation  of  the  grandeur 
and  vastness  of  his  discoveries.  He  united  with  mediaeval  re 
ligious  devotion  and  piety  the  most  worldly  and  ambitious  plans 
of  family  and  estate,  of  official  dignity  and  jurisdiction.  He  was 
a  striking  example  of  earthly  but  honorable  ambition  mingled 
with  the  virtues  and  self-abnegation  of  a  religious  devotee. 
Yesterday  we  saw  him  emerging  from  the  cloister  in  the  humble 
garb  and  unshorn  beard  of  a  Franciscan  monk  ;  to-day  we  behold 
him  wielding  the  power  of  disposal  over  titles,  dignities,  offices, 
jurisdictions,  and  estates  vaster  than  the  most  ancient  and  most 
opulent  houses  of  the  Spanish  aristocracy,  and  eclipsing  the 
immense  wealth  of  the  greatest  of  modern  corporations. 

By  the  testament  which  he  made  during  this  interval  of  delay 
he  provided  for  his  other  nearest  relatives,  members  now  of  his 
own  family,  such  as  his  second  son,  Fernando,  his  brother  Bar 
tholomew,  the  Adelantado,  and  his  brother  Diego,  to  all  of 
whom  he  was  devotedly  attached,  and  whose  loyalty  to  him  was 
constant  and  honorable.  In  his  generosity  he  provided  that  one 
tenth  of  the  revenues  of  his  estates  should  form  a  fund  for  the 
relief  of  all  the  poor  relatives  of  his  lineage,  and  for  general  pious 
and  charitable  uses,  and  provided  dowries  for  his  poor  female 
relatives,  present  and  future.  He  established  a  family  domicile 
and  residence  for  the  Colombos  in  Genoa,  his  native  city  ;  com 
manded  his  successors  in  the  entail,  subject  to  the  paramount 
interests  of  the  Church  and  Spanish  crown,  to  promote  the  honor, 
prosperity,  and  growth  of  the  city  of  Genoa.  Diego,  his  eldest 
son  and  heir-apparent  to  the  entail,  was  enjoined  to  provide  in 
good  royal  manner  for  the  recovery  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  to 
Christendom,  and  for  this  purpose  to  invest  all  the  surplus  funds 
of  the  entail  in  stock  of  the  Bank  of  St.  George  at  Genoa,  and  to 
stand  ready  with  these  vast  anticipated  revenues  to  follow  the 
King  of  Spain  to  the  conquest  of  the  sacred  places,  or  otherwise 
himself  to  organize  and  lead  the  crusade  at  his  own  expense. 
The  deep  religious  cast  which  this  remarkable  instrument  re 
ceived  from  his  hand  is  intensified  by  the  injunction  given  to  his 
heirs,  in  case  of  schism  or  trouble  in  the  Church,  to  throw  them 
selves  at  the  feet  of  the  Pope,  and  devote  person  and  estate  to 
the  defence  of  the  honor  and  dominions  of  the  Church  ;  and  next 


34O  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

to  the  Church  to  render  the  same  service  and  homage  to  the 
Spanish  crown.  He  gives  as  an  inheritance  to  his  heir  in  the 
spiritual  order,  his  own  romantic  loyalty  to  the  Church,  by  com 
manding  him,  in  the  confessional,  that  he  should  before  confess 
ing  request  the  ghostlv  father  to  examine  the  precious  document, 
and  question  him  closely  as  to  his  fulfilment  of  the  duties  thereby 
imposed.  In  this  remarkable  document  the  illustrious  testator, 
in  the  very  first  sentence,  declares  that  it  was  the  Most  Holy 
Trinity  who  inspired  him  with  the  idea  of  discovering  the  Indies 
by  sailing  to  the  west  across  the  ocean,  and  afterward  made  this 
idea  perfectly  clear  to  him.  In  the  codicil,  which  he  made 
before  his  death,  there  were  other  interesting  features,  showing 
the  elevation  of  spirit  which  characterized  the  admiral  in  life  and 
in  death.  In  the  principal  will  now  made  the  great  religious 
purposes  of  Columbus  through  life,  as  provided  for  in  the  will, 
are  divided  by  the  Count  de  Lorgues  under  five  principal  heads  : 
First,  to  pay  tithes  to  God  and  His  poor  ;  second,  to  deliver  the 
Holy  Sepulchre  ;  third,  to  secure  the  temporal  independence  of 
the  Pope  ;  fourth,  to  comfort  the  sick  ;  and,  fifth,  to  labor  for 
the  conversion  of  the  Indians.  The  signature  of  the  admiral  to 
his  will  is  equally  remarkable  for  its  religious  and  devotional 
character,  and  sets  forth  the  title  of  Christ-Bearer,  or  Chris 
topher,  as  illustrated  by  what  the  Count  de  Lorgues  perhaps  too 
enthusiastically  calls  his  apostolate  ;  and  the  Holy  See  has  now 
lately  declared  that  from  historical  data  it  is  clear  and  indisputa 
ble  that  Columbus  undertook  his  great  discovery  mainly  with 
the  view  of  bringing  the  heathen  inhabitants  of  the  countries  he 
would  discover  to  the  knowledge  of  Christ  and  His  religion. 

In  addition  to  the  mayorazgo,  a  royal  edict  was  made  on  June 
2d,  1497,  whereby  the  king  and  queen  revoked  the  general  license 
given  or  proclaimed  in  April,  1495,  to  make  expeditions  of  dis 
covery  and  exploration  in  the  new  world,  which  he  had  always 
regarded  as  an  infraction  of  his  privileges.  The  Spanish  sover 
eigns,  in  their  edict,  expressly  declared  that,  so  far  from  intend 
ing  to  deprive  him  of  any  of  his  privileges,  rights,  favors,  or 
conventions,  it  was  their  intention  to  bestow  still  further  distinc 
tions  and  favors  upon  him.  While  the  act  of  Columbus  had  been 
regarded  at  first  with  displeasure  by  the  king,  whereby  the  office 
and  title  of  Adelantado  had  been  conferred  on  Don  Bartholomew 
Columbus,  because  Ferdinand  regarded  the  power  to  confer  such 


ON   COLUMBUS.  34! 

an  office  as  vested  solely  in  himself,  now  the  title  and  office  were 
spontaneously  conferred  upon  that  worthy  man  by  the  sover 
eigns,  without  allusion  to  his  previous  enjoyment  of  them.  The 
sovereigns  also  gave  Columbus  permission  to  take  out  on  his 
third  voyage  three  hundred  and  thirty  persons  whose  pay 
was  given  from  the  royal  treasury,  forty  of  them  being  ser 
vants,  one  hundred  foot  soldiers,  thirty  sailors,  thirty  ship- 
boys,  twenty  miners,  fifty  husbandmen,  ten  gardeners,  twenty 
mechanics,  and  thirty  females,  with  authority  to  increase  the 
whole  number  to  five  hundred,  the  additional  ones  to  be  paid 
from  the  yields  of  the  colony.  He  was  also  given  the  right  to 
make  grants  of  land  to  such  as  would  till  them  in  vineyards, 
orchards,  sugar  plantations,  and  other  agricultural  or  rural 
establishments,  on  condition  of  four  years'  residence  in  the 
island,  and  reserving  all  brazil-wood  and  precious  metals  to  the 
crown.  The  solicitude  of  Isabella  provided  for  the  religious 
instruction  of  the  natives  and  the  lenient  collection  of  the  tribute. 
A  few  such  measures  alone  indicated  that  little  impression  had 
been  made  on  the  minds  of  the  sovereigns  by  the  calumnies  so 
industriously  propagated  against  the  admiral. 

While  Columbus  was  pressing  his  enterprises  for  the  grand 
and  limitless  advancement  of  Spanish  empire  over  countless 
tribes  and  peoples,  islands  and  continents,  encountering  delay 
and  discouragement  at  every  step,  he  was  chagrined  at  seeing 
millions  expended  and  vast  armadas  put  afloat  for  the  promo 
tion  of  dynastic  schemes  or  for  the  acquisition  of  some  trifling 
angle  or  corner  of  European  soil.  He  asked  only  for  a  small 
number  of  little  caravels  for  the  conquest  of  continents.  After 
great  delays  and  disappointments,  he  at  last  was  cheered  by  a 
royal  order  for  the  advancement  of  six  millions  of  maravedis 
for  the  third  voyage.  So  far  not  a  ship  was  procured,  not  a 
sailor  enlisted.  At  this  juncture  the  remarkable  changes  in  the 
fortunes  of  the  admiral,  which  illustrate  his  whole  life,  so  fre 
quent,  so  sudden,  so  disastrous,  were  followed  now  by  singular 
and  similar  experiences.  When  on  the  eve  of  receiving  the  six 
millions  appropriated  for  his  voyage,  a  letter  was  received  at 
court  announcing  the  arrival  at  Cadiz  of  the  pilot  Pedro  Alonzo 
Nino,  with  three  caravels  from  Hispaniola,  and  containing  the 
cheering  announcement  that  he  had  brought  from  the  Antilles  a 
great  amount  of  gold.  Though  viewing  the  news  from  different 


342  OLD    AND    M-:\V    LIGHTS 

standpoints,  Columbus  and  Ferdinand  were  at  first  equally  re 
joiced.  Disappointment  followed.  The  boastful  pilot  had  sent 
this  misguiding  letter  to  the  sovereigns  instead  of  repairing  in 
person  to  court.  He  went  immediately  to  visit  his  family  at 
Huelva.  It  was  found  on  investigation  that  he  had  carried  the 
despatches  of  the  Adetantado  with  him.  He  did  not  arrive  at 
court  until  the  end  of  December,  and  when  the  despatches  were 
read,  the  gold  mentioned  in  Nino's  letter,  as  brought  by  him 
from  Hispaniola,  turned  out  to  be  a  cargo  of  Indians.  The  pilot 
had  used  an  ill-timed  figure  of  speech,  whereby  the  gold  to  be 
realized  from  the  sale  of  the  Indians  was  the  gold  he  alluded  to 
in  his  letter.  The  needy  king,  on  receipt  of  Nino's  letter  in 
October,  had  ordered  the  six  millions  appropriated  for  the  third 
voyage  of  Columbus  to  be  used  for  repairing  the  fortress  of 
Salza,  in  Roussillon,  which  had  been  dismantled  by  the  French, 
and  the  six  millions  needed  for  the  voyage  to  Hispaniola  were 
ordered  to  be  taken  out  of  the  figurative  gold  which  Nino  had 
brought  home. 

The  admiral  was  stunned  by  this  cruel  and  unexpected  blow. 
Not  only  did  he  find  himself  without  a  dollar  for  his  enterprise 
for  pushing  the  great  discovery  to  the  continent,  but  his  whole 
work,  past  and  future,  though  it  had  given  a  new  world  to 
Spain,  became,  in  the  eyes  of  the  public  and  in  the  clamor  of  his 
enemies,  a. reproach  to  him,  a  deception  to  the  crown,  a  snare  to 
the  people.  Not  only  were  his  hopes  that  immediate  harvests  of 
gold  had  been  reaped  from  the  newly  discovered  mines  of  Hayna 
dissipated,  but  he  and  his  work  became  objects  of  scorn  and  male 
diction,  the  people  pointing  derisively  to  Indian  prisoners  and 
miserable  Spanish  colonists  as  the  gold  which  came  from  His 
paniola.  When  it  became  known  that  the  statements  brought 
by  Nino's  crew  represented  the  condition  of  the  colony  as  miser 
able,  and  the  very  despatches  of  the  Adelantado  called  for  hasty 
relief  in  supplies,  even  his  few  friends  staggered  in  their  support 
of  him.  The  whole  claim  of  a  new  world  discovered  became 
invested  with  the  garb  of  exaggeration  and  boasting. 

A  year's  delay  sickened  the  heart  of  Columbus,  and,  as  he 
himself  said,  he  was  "oppressed  with  reproaches."  So  great 
was  the  decline  of  public  faith  in  the  verity  of  the  first  accounts 
of  the  new  world,  of  its  treasures  and  wealth,  so  apparently  dis 
astrous  all  its  results,  that  neither  ships  nor  men  could  now  be 


ON   COLUMBUS.  343 

procured  for  the  coming  voyage.  A  contemporary  and  eye 
witness  of  the  scenes  then  enacted  in  Spain  said,  "  Because 
those  who  went  with  the  admiral  .  .  .  returned  sick,  emaci 
ated,  and  of  so  sickly  a  color  that  they  appeared  more  dead 
than  alive,  the  country  of  the  Indies  was  so  much  decried  that 
nobody  could  be  found,  who  would  venture  to  go  there."  *  The 
promises  of  royal  pay  and  the  reiterated  prospects  of  gold  failed 
to  secure  ships  or  recruits.  The  achievements  now  celebrated 
by  the  world  with  unparalleled  grandeur  were  then  in  such 
odium  that  men  sickened  at  the  thought  of  embarking  on  the 
very  voyage  which  brought  to  light  the  existence  of  the  conti 
nent  itself.  Columbus,  ever  ready  in  expedients,  even  in  the 
darkest  extremities,  suggested  that  the  services  of  criminals  sen 
tenced  to  banishment,  the  galleys,  or  to  the  mines  be  commuted 
to  transportation  to  the  new  settlements  of  Hispaniola,  and  to 
labor  there  in  the  public  service.  This  was  done.  Nay,  more  ; 
proclamation  was  made  of  a  general  pardon  of  all  malefactors 
at  large  who  would  come  in  and  surrender  themselves  to  the 
admiral,  and  embark  with  him  for  Hispaniola. f  A  scale  of  pun 
ishments  commuted  for  certain  specified  terms  of  service  in  the 
new  settlements  was  published.  A  colony  of  convicts,  criminals, 
and  malefactors,  sent  thousands  of  miles  away  from  the  mother 
country  and  brought  in  contact  with  the  simple,  unclad,  and 
guileless  natives  of  a  new  hemisphere,  was  a  measure — perhaps 
the  only  one  then  possible — which  ruined  the  very  enterprise  it 
was  designed  to  sustain. 

From  a  miscellaneous  rabble  of  criminals  of  every  degree  of 
degradation  and  crime — pernicious  poison  to  a  noble  enterprise — 
we  turn  to  the  more  studied  and  refined  marplots  of  bureaucracy. 
Notwithstanding  the  pronounced  favor  extended  by  the  sover 
eigns  to  the  enterprise  of  Columbus,  Antonio  de  Torres,  having 
been  charged  with  the  duty  of  purchasing  supplies  for  the  fleet 
of  Columbus,  the  "  red-tape"  of  the  bureau  exacted  from  design 
rather  than  necessity  an  infinite  number  of  documents  to  be  pre 
pared  for  the  signatures  of  the  official  head  of  the  bureau  and  of 
the  admiral.  When  it  was  discovered  that  he  had  abused  his 
trust  by  exorbitant  demands,  Torres  was  removed,  and  to  the 

*  Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  p.  353. 

f  Las  Casas,   "Hist.   Incl.,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  112,  MS.  ;  Mufioz,  lib.  vi.,  §  19;  Irving's 
*  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  96. 


344  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

sorrow  of  the  admiral  his  inveterate  but  secret  enemy,  Juan 
Rodriguez  de  Fonseca,  Bishop  of  Badajos,  was  reappointed,  and 
new  sets  of  documents  more  numerous  than  the  first  had  to  be 
prepared  with  all  the  circumlocution  of  Spanish  ceremonial. 
Delay  under  Fonseca  was  the  inevitable  but  disastrous  result. 
Another  misfortune  followed.  The  generous  queen  was  over 
whelmed  with  sorrow  by  the  death  of  the  prince  royal,  Don 
Juan,  whose  nuptials  had  been  but  recently  celebrated.  Such 
were  the  straits  of  the  colony  that  immediate  relief  must  be  sent 
out.  The  queen  advanced  the  necessary  funds  from  the  dowry 
of  the  Princess  Isabella,  then  betrothed  to  King  Emanuel  of 
Portugal.  Two  ships,  under  command  of  Pedro  Fernandez 
Coronel,  sailed  with  provisions  for  Hispaniola  in  the  beginning 
of  1498.  Fonseca  and  his  minions  covertly  did  all  in  their  power 
to  undermine  the  interests  of  Columbus,  and  to  defeat  the  most 
urgent  preparations  for  the  voyage.  They  knew  that  his  popu 
larity  was  on  the  wane,  and  they  resorted  to  all  secret  measures 
to  annoy  him,  and  became  so  emboldened  as  to  extend  to  him 
at  times  open  but  ignoble  arrogance.  Though  he  bore  these 
wrongs  with  prudent  silence,  yet  with  just  indignation,  he  was 
so  disheartened  that  it  is  said  he  meditated  the  abandonment  of 
his  great  career  of  discovery,  and  probably  his  retirement  from 
the  world.  The  confidence  of  the  queen  was  his  moral  support ; 
his  loyal  regard  for  this  peerless  woman  armed  him  with  cour 
age.  After  stupendous  exertions  and  disheartening  delays  the 
six  remaining  ships  were  prepared  for  sailing,  though  the  general 
horror  of  the  people  for  the  expedition  made  the  number  of 
enlisted  men  fall  short  ;  but  to  these  were  added  a  physician, 
a  surgeon,  and  an  apothecary,  several  musicians  to  sustain  the 
drooping  spirits  of  the  colonists,  and  priests  to  take  up  the  mis 
sionary  work  which  Father  Boil  and  his  sympathizing  colleagues 
had  abandoned. 

Among  the  salaried  instruments  of  Fonseca' s  malice  was  one 
Ximeno  Breviesca,  paymaster  under  him,  and  a  ready  minion  of 
his  plottings  against  Columbus.  He  was  a  Jew  who,  as  De 
Lorgues  says,  had  found  it  convenient  to  accept  baptism  after 
the  conquest  of  Granada.  Though  assuming  the  name  of  a 
Christian,  he  was  an  alien  to  every  Christian  virtue.  He  was  a 
genial  tool  of  a  Christian  official  whose  conduct  has  been  univer 
sally  condemned  by  every  Christian  writer  as  a  blemish  upon 


ON   COLUMBUS.  345 

the  sacred  character  he  bore.  Not  content  with  having  delayed 
the  third  voyage  for  nearly  two  years,  Fonseca  hounded  the 
admiral  with  persecution  even  to  the  day  of  his  departure,  fol 
lowing  him  up  in  this  way  to  the  port  of  San  Lucar  de  Barrameda, 
and  there  even  to  the  water's  edge  and  on  board  his  own  ship 
as  he  entered  it  to  embark.  Ximeno  was  the  useful  man  for  this 
work  of  Fonseca,  for  he  it  was  who  dogged  the  steps  of  the 
admiral  now  with  open  abuse  from  place  to  place,  from  the 
shore  to  the  ship.  Insulted  by  this  miscreant  in  the  presence  of 
his  officers  and  crew,  the  long-patient  admiral  could  no  longer 
restrain  his  just  anger.  'His  heart  at  such  moments,"  says  the 
eulogist  of  the  admiral,  the  Count  de  Lorgues,  alluding  to  his 
custom  of  commencing  every  voyage  with  prayer,  " '  super- 
abounded  with  Christian  charity  ;  he  was,  therefore,  ready  to 
pardon  and  consequently  to  bear  injuries.  But  this  day  the 
offence  was  so  grievous,  so  intolerable  by  its  persistence  and 
bravado,  that  the  old  man,  now  an  admiral,  remembered  what 
he  owed  to  his  rank.  Impunity  this  time  may  be  attended  with 
disastrous  consequences.  The  offence  was  given  in  the  presence 
of  the  whole  squadron,  of  the  crowd  on  the  quay,  of  some  bandits 
and  other  criminals  who  were  on  board  ;  all  these  would  take  his 
patience  for  pusillanimity  and  cowardice.  At  the  moment  of 
departure  it  became,  perhaps,  necessary  for  the  safety  of  the 
ships  and  the  maintenance  of  discipline  to  prove  on  the  spot 
that  age  had  not  reduced  his  vigor,  and  that  he  knew  how  to 
make  his  person  respected  as  well  as  to  have  his  orders  exe 
cuted.  The  patriarch  of  the  ocean  made  a  step  toward  his  in- 
sulter,  and  with  his  fist  dealt  him  a  blow  on  his  impudent  face. 
The  miserable  wretch  fell  down,  stunned.  The  admiral  limited 
himself  to  giving  a  few  kicks  to  this  vile  snarler,  who  fled  in  the 
midst  of  hootings,  concealing  under  his  humiliation  and  forced 
tears  his  secret  joy,  for  from  that  moment  his  fortune  was 
made."*  It  is  impossible,  however,  to  regard  this  account  as 
historical. 

A  regulated  temper,  a  forbearing  disposition,  when  once  the 
barriers  are  broken  down,  gives  vent  to  the  long-accumulated 
indignation  and  sense  of  wrong.  The  enemies  of  Columbus 
were  adepts  at  such  things  ;  the  snare  had  been  laid  for  him, 


Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  De  Lorgues'  "Columbus,"  p.  362. 


346  OLD   AND   NEW   LIQHTS 

and  he  had  unguardedly  fallen  into  it.  Not  only  had  he  dis 
played  cruelty  to  the  poor  natives  of  Hispaniola,  he  had  now  in 
a  Spanish  port,  under  the  very  eyes  of  his  sovereigns,  brutally 
maltreated  one  of  their  subjects,  and  an  officer  of  the  crown.  The 
accusations  of  Pedro  Margarite,  Father  Boil,  of  Juan  de  Aguado, 
and  so  many  others  were  claimed  to  have  been  proved  to  be  well 
founded  by  this  very  act  of  the  accused.  Columbus  had  a  pre 
sentiment  of  the  use  his  enemies  would  make  of  this  incident. 
He  sailed  on  the  enterprise  with  this  load  upon  his  heart,  accom 
panied  by  the  unjust  denunciations  of  his  enemies  and  of  the 
populace,  and  followed  by  cruel  execrations.  But  the  infamous 
Ximeno,  hireling  of  the  incumbent  Fonseca,  became  an  object 
of  sympathy  and  favor,  and  while  Columbus  was  insulted,  his 
insulter  received  pity,  consolation,  and  indemnity.  Of  this  inci 
dent,  so  unimportant  in  itself,  but  magnified  by  the  enemies  of 
Columbus,  Mr.  Irving  writes  :  ' '  As  Ximeno  was  a  creature  of 
the  invidious  Fonseca,  the  affair  was  represented  to  the  sover 
eigns  from  the  most  odious  point  of  view.  Thus  the  generous 
intentions  of  princes  and  the  exalted  services  of  their  subjects 
are  apt  to  be  defeated  by  the  cold  and  crafty  men  in  place.  By 
this  implacable  hostility  to  Columbus,  and  the  secret  obstruc 
tions  which  he  threw  in  the  way  of  the  most  illustrious  of  human 
enterprises,  Fonseca  has  insured  perpetuity  to  his  name,  coupled 
with  the  contempt  of  every  generous  mind."  * 

Now  all  was  ready  ;  the  admiral,  inspired  with  hopes  and 
purposes  second  only  to  those  he  entertained  on  his  first  voyage, 
sailed  from  the  port  of  San  Lucar  de  Barrameda  on  May  3Oth,  1498. 
The  admiral  resolved  to  give  the  name  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity 
to  the  first  land  he  should  discover,  and  he  determined,  with  the 
help  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  under  whose  patronage  he  placed  this 
voyage,  to  pass  beyond  the  region  of  islands  and  to  set  his  foot 
upon  terra  firtna,  whose  continental  proportions  his  good  ships 
would  demonstrate  to  the  world.  His  mind  was  filled  with  well- 
digested  data,  which  induced  him  to  steer  to  the  south,  because 
he  had  treasured  up  the  statements  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Caribbean  Sea,  that  to  the  south  there  stood  a  vast  land  of  con 
tinental  proportions,  and  he  had  observed  that  the  island  of  Cuba 
made  an  extended  sweep  to  the  south,  by  which  he  thought  was 


*  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  too. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  347 

indicated  the  lay  of  successive  lands  of  which  that  island,  as  he 
believed,  formed  a  part.  He  was  confirmed  in  this  view  by  the 
opinion  of  King  John  II.  of  Portugal,  and  by  a  letter  he  had 
formerly  received  from  the  learned  lapidary,  Jayme  Ferrer,  who 
had  written  to  him  at  the  request  of  the  queen,  and  whose 
acquaintance  he  had  since  then  and  recently  made  at  Burgos. 
He  formed  his  theories  also  upon  statements  made  by  the  inhab 
itants  of  Hispaniola  in  relation  to  a  race  of  black  men,  who  had 
formerly  come  to  their  country,  and  upon  the  assay  made  of  their 
javelin  heads,  composed  of  a  metal  they  called  guanin,  showing 
a  combination  of  eighteen  parts  of  gold,  six  of  silver,  and  eight 
of  copper.  From  his  information  and  study  of  the  subject  he 
was  convinced  of  the  existence  of  a  black  race  inhabiting  vast 
countries  near  the  equator,  rich  in  the  precious  metals  and 
favored  in  their  climate,  soil,  and  wealth.  He  felt  quite  sure 
that  his  new  southern  route  would  solve  these  momentous  ques 
tions. 

Information  of  a  French  fleet  cruising  off  Cape  St.  Vincent 
caused  Columbus  to  vary  his  course  to  the  southwest,  and  on 
June  /th  he  arrived  at  Porto  Santo,  where  he  heard  mass  and 
took  in  wood  and  water  ;  touching  also  at  Madeira,  he  took  in 
supplies  and  steered  for  the  Canaries.  Arriving  at  Gomera,  on 
June  iQth,  he  saw  in  port  a  French  cruiser  holding  two  Spanish 
prizes,  which,  alarmed  at  his  arrival,  immediately  took  its  depar 
ture.  He  at  first  thought  the  prizes  were  merchant  ships,  but 
on  learning  their  true  character,  he  gave  chase  by  sending  out 
three  of  his  vessels  ;  but  the  fugitives  had  made  sufficient  distance 
to  escape.  But  on  board  of  one  of  the  prizes,  six  Spanish 
prisoners,  on  seeing  their  countrymen  approaching,  rose  up 
against  their  captors  ;  this  the  Spanish  caravels  captured,  and 
brought  her  back  triumphantly  to  port.  The  prisoners  were 
exchanged  for  six  Spaniards  carried  off  by  the  French  cruiser, 
and  the  recaptured  prize  was  returned  to  its  captain.  The  fleet 
left  Gomera  on  June  2ist,  and  on  arriving  off  the  island  of  Ferro, 
in  his  solicitude  for  his  colony  at  Isabella,  Columbus  sent  forward 
three  of  the  vessels  to  relieve  the  colonists,  who  were  in  need  of 
supplies.  These  vessels  were  commanded  respectively  by  Alonzo 
Sanchez  de  Caravajal,  a  most  worthy  man  ;  Pedro  de  Arana  de 
Cordova,  brother  of  Donna  Beatrix  Enriquez,  his  second  wife, 
the  mother  of  Fernando  Columbus,  cousin  of  Diego  de  Arana, 


348  OLD  AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

the  commander  of  the  ill-fated  fortress  of  La  Navidad  ;  and  the 
third  ship  by  Juan  Antonio  Columbus,  of  Genoa,  a  relative  of 
the  admiral,  one  possessed  of  the  capacity  and  virtues  of  the 
family.  The  three  captains  were  given  the  command  of  the  little 
fleet  in  alternation,  a  week  at  a  time,  receiving  full  instructions 
as  to  the  route,  and  also  on  arriving  in  sight  of  Hispaniola  to 
steer  for  the  south  side  and  the  port  of  the  new  town,  which  he 
supposed  had  been  founded  in  the  mouth  of  the  Ozema,  agree 
ably  to  orders  carried  out  by  Coronel. 

Columbus  with  the  remaining  three  ships  turned  his  course 
toward  the  torrid  zone,  still  invoking,  as  he  had  done  when  he 
commenced  the  voyage,  the  name  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity. 
His  own  ship  was  decked,  while  the  other  two  were  only  caravels 
of  trade.  A  severe  attack  of  gout  assailed  him  as  he  reached  the 
tropics,  and  this  caused  him  fever  and  intense  pain  ;  yet  he  con 
tinued,  with  characteristic  energy  and  mental  power,  to  direct 
every  progress  of  the  voyage.  He  arrived  at  the  Cape  de  Verde 
Islands  on  June  27th,  where  he  made  but  a  short  stay,  as  he 
found  it  impossible  to  procure  certain  provisions  he  needed, 
such  as  goat's  meat  for  the  voyage  and  cattle  for  the  colony. 
Still  suffering  greatly  from  the  depressing  effects  of  an  insalu 
brious  climate,  and  leaving  the  barren  island  of  Buena  Vista,  on 
July  5th,  he  steered  to  the  southwest,  intending  to  persevere  in 
this  route,  in  spite  of  adverse  currents  and  winds,  until  he  crossed 
the  equinoctial  line  and  found  the  terra  fir  ma  in  the  West  Indies. 
Reaching  the  fifth  degree  of  north  latitude  on  July  I3th,  the 
admiral  and  all  his  crews  suffered  intensely  from  scorching 
heats  in  dead  calms.  In  the  midst  of  his  agonies  of  pain,  in 
tensified  by  the  torrid  sun  and  calm,  he  used  extraordinary 
vigilance  in  watching  the  currents  of  the  winds  and  the  ocean, 
and  studying  the  phenomena  of  nature.  In  consequence  of  the 
opening  of  the  seams  of  his  ships  by  the  solar  heat,  he  resolved 
to  change  his  course  to  the  direct  west  in  hope  of  reaching  a 
port  sooner,  and  he  observed,  on  passing  the  papal  line  of  de 
marcation,  one  hundred  leagues  west  of  the  Azores,  that  the 
climate  and  atmosphere  changed.  In  changing  his  course  to 
west,  he  thus  recorded  his  sentiments,  after  fervent  recourse  to 
prayer  :  "  After  that  I  resolved,  if  it  should  please  the  Lord  to 
send  me  wind  and  a  propitious  time,  to  leave  the  latitudes  in  which 
I  found  myself,  to  push  no  farther  to  the  south,  but,  without 


ON   COLUMBUS.  349 

retrograding,  to  sail  to  the  west,  until  I  would  find  the  tempera 
ture  I  had  met  in  the  latitude  of  the  Canaries,  and  then  to  steer 
to  the  south." 

The  ships,  as  he  anticipated,  now  passed  out  of  the  unfavor 
able  atmosphere  into  a  serene  sky  and  favoring  winds,  and  on 
reaching  this  region  he  had  intended  to  sail  south  and  then  again 
west ;  but  he  continued  his  westward  course  until  he  thought  he 
was  in  the  longitude  of  the  Caribbee  Islands,  and  then,  in  his 
distress,  he  changed  his  course  northward  in  order  to  reach  one 
of  them  as  soon  as  possible.  Not  only  were  his  vessels  leaking, 
there  was  no  wine,  the  provisions  had  spoiled,  and  each  ship 
had  on  board  only  one  cask  of  water. 

At  this  perilous  juncture,  on  July  3ist,  Alonzo  Perez  Nizzardo, 
one  of  the  mariners,  about  midday  saw  in  the  distance  the  sum 
mits  of  three  mountains,  and  joyously  exclaimed,  Land  !  It 
seemed  about  fifteen  leagues  distant,  and  as  the  ships  approached, 
the  three  mountains  seemed  united  into  one  toward  the  base, 
thus  recalling  to  the  devout  mind  of  Columbus  the  Holy  Trinity, 
the  three  persons  in  one  God,  in  whose  honor  he  had  commenced 
his  voyage.  In  a  transport  of  religious  fervor  he  fulfilled  his 
promise,  and  called  the  land  La  Trinidad.  Columbus  ever  re 
garded  this  fortunate  discovery  of  land  as  miraculous,  and,  as 
Mufioz  relates,  a  signal  favor  of  God.* 

The  admiral  coasted  from  the  eastern  end  of  Trinidad,  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  Punta  de  la  Galera,  from  a  prom 
inent  rock  rising  from  the  sea  so  as  to  resemble  a  galley  under 
sail,  westward  in  search  of  a  safe  place  of  landing,  to  obtain 
water.  The  country  was  fresh  and  verdant,  and,  as  he  wrote 
to  the  sovereigns,  resembling  the  fine  Spanish  province  of 
Valencia  in  early  spring.  Coming  to  a  point  where  water  was 
obtained,  pure  and  abundant,  he  called  it  Punta  de  la  Playa. 
Here  were  seen  the  footprints  of  men,  who  had  suddenly  fled, 
and  of  animals  at  rest,  the  latter  supposed  to  be  those  of  the  deer. 

An  event  now  occurred  of  scarcely  less  importance  than  the 
discovery  of  the  first  land  of  the  new  world  :  it  was  the  discovery 
of  the  continent.  Looking  to  the  south  a  long  and  low  stretch 
of  coast  appeared,  broken  by  numerous  channels  of  water  ;  and, 


*  Mufloz,   "Hist,  del    Nuevo  Mundo,"  lib.  vi.,  §23;    Irving's  "Life  of    Colum 
bus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  108. 


350  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

supposing  it  to  be  an  island,  and  still  moved  with  his  never-failing- 
sense  of  the  divine  guidance,  he  called  it,  according  to  Irving  and 
Tarducci,  the  Sacred  Isle,  La  Isla  Santa.  While  these  authors 
speak  of  the  admiral's  having  no  conception  of  the  continent 
which  he  then  actually  discovered,  the  Count  de  Lorgues,  ever 
prone  to  the  marvellous,  writes  :  "  Although  there  was  no 
index  to  make  him  suppose  that  these  islands  were  formed  by 
the  embrouchure  of  a  great  river,  he  had  a  feeling  something 
uncommon,  strange,  and  inexplicable  in  regard  to  the  nature 
of  these  islands  ;  for,  far  from  giving  a  collected  name  to  them, 
he  designated  the  country  by  the  name  of  Tierra  de  Gracia 
(Land  of  Grace),  because  the  grace  of  God  had  alone  conducted 
him  there,  and  he  did  not  speak  of  islands  in  this  part  of  his 
report."  But  Mr.  Irving  admits  that  Columbus  "  now  for  the 
first  time  beheld  that  continent,  that  Terra  Firma,  which  had  been 
the  object  of  his  earnest  search."  *  The  first  sight  of  the  conti 
nent  was  gained  on  August  ist,  1798.  It  was,  however,  after 
passing  into  the  Gulf  farther  that  Columbus  saw  the  land  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  the  Land  of  Grace.  Conjecture  was 
now  ended.  That  Columbus  realized  then  and  there  that  he  had 
discovered  the  continent  is  not  now  a  matter  of  mere  conjecture. 
Mr.  Fiske  says  :  ' '  Presently,  finding  that  the  water  in  the  Gulf 
was  fresh  to  the  taste,  he  gradually  reasoned  his  way  to  the  cor 
rect  conclusion,  that  the  billows  which  had  so  nearly  over 
whelmed  him  must  have  come  out  from  a  river  greater  than  any 
he  had  ever  known  or  dreamed  of,  and  that  so  vast  a  stream  of 
running  water  could  be  produced  only  on  land  of  continental 
dimensions.  This  coast  to  the  south  of  him  was,  therefore,  the 
coast  of  a  continent,  with  indefinite  extension  toward  the  south, 
a  land  not  laid  down  on  Toscanelli's  or  any  other  map,  and  of 
which  no  one  had  until  that  time  known  anything."  Columbus, 
in  his  own  language  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  describes  the 
river  as  flowing  from  a  land  of  infinite  extent,  and  of  which  no 
previous  knowledge  had  anywhere  existed  in  Europe,  f 

The  fleet  continued  to  the  southwest  end  of  Trinidad,  and  on 
August  2d   he  named  it  Point  Avenal  ;    it  stretched  toward  a 


*  Barry's  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  p.  370  ;  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  nor 
and  farther  on  p.  114. 

f  Fiske's  "  Discovery  of  America,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  493,  494. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  351 

similar  point  of  Terra  Firma,  a  narrow  pass  dividing  them,  in 
the  centre  of  which  was  a  high  rock,  to  which  he  gave  the  name 
of  El  Gallo.  Having  anchored  the  ships  here,  as  they  were 
nearing  their  anchorage  a  large  canoe,  containing  twenty-five 
Indians,  approached  within  bow-shot,  and  hailed  them  in  an 
unknown  tongue.  The  tempting  offer  of  trinkets  having  failed 
to  allure  them  to  the  ships,  the  power  of  music  with  Spanish 
dances  on  deck  was  tried,  but  this  latter  proved  less  successful, 
for  the  men  who  had  remained  two  hours  gazing  in  wonder  at 
what  they  saw,  with  paddles  in  hand  ready  for  flight,  took  this 
for  a  hostile  sign,  and  fled  precipitately  to  a  distance,  discharging 
their  arrows  at  the  admiral's  ship,  and  receiving  from  him  in 
return  a  couple  of  cross-bow  missiles.  They  were  not  so  shy  of 
the  caravels,  however,  but  approached  and  parleyed  with  the 
pilot,  and  accepted  presents  with  delight.  They  invited  the 
pilot  on  shore,  and  on  his  acceptance  of  the  invitation,  they  went 
ashore  to  welcome  him.  But  when  they  saw  him  go  first  to 
the  admiral's  ship,  which  they  took  for  the  warship,  they  sprang 
into  the  canoe  and  disappeared.  These  natives  were  well  formed 
young  men,  with  no  dress  except  cotton  fillets  around  their 
heads  and  colored  cloths  of  cotton  about  their  loins  ;  and  they 
were  well  armed  with  bows  and  with  arrows  feathered  and  tipped 
with  bane,  and  in  their  hands  were  seen  the  first  bucklers  ob 
served  in  the  Western  Hemisphere  by  the  Spaniards. 

Columbus  made,  as  was  his  custom,  minute  observations  of 
the  natives,  whom  he  was  surprised  to  find  not  of  the  African 
type,  but  rather  fairer  than  those  more  north  of  the  equator, 
and  with  long  hair  and  handsome  forms  ;  and  of  the  climate, 
which  he  also  to  his  surprise  found  more  temperate  and  agree 
able  than  that  nearer  the  equator.  Having  landed,  the  Spaniards 
found  the  only  water  obtainable  was  procured  by  sinking  pits 
in  the  sand.  Columbus  observed,  with  astonishment  and  fear, 
the  waters  strangely  agitated,  boiling,  hissing,  and  raging  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  render  the  anchorage  insecure.  He  called 
the  pass  the  Serpent's  Mouth.  At  night  he  saw  a  huge  and 
raging  surge  of  the  sea  rushing  toward  his  ship,  which  was 
struck  by  it,  was  lifted  up  to  a  perilous  height,  while  another 
ship  was  wrenched  from  its  anchorage.  He  sent  the  boats 
next  morning  to  take  the  depths  in  the  Serpent's  Mouth,  and 
explore  it  far  enough  to  learn  whether  the  ships  could  pass 


352  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

through,  and  he  was  rejoiced  at  their  report  of  deep  waters  for 
the  passage  of  the  ships  away  from  this  dangerous  anchorage. 
With  a  favorable  wind  now  springing  up,  the  admiral  soon  found 
himself  in  a  tranquil  gulf  beyond. 

What  could  be  more  striking  than  the  spectacle  we  now  behold, 
the  discoverer  of  the  new  world  struggling  to  explore  more 
fully  what  he  had  discovered,  and,  for  the  first  time,  to  deter 
mine  its  geography  and  delineate  its  map  !  Continuing  his  route 
to  the  northwest  point  of  Trinidad,  he  saw  two  high  capes  oppo 
site  each  other,  the  one  on  the  island  of  Trinidad,  the  other  on 
the  west ;  and  to  the  latter  he  gave  the  name  of  Land  of  Grace. 
The  Count  de  Lorgues  contends  in  effect  that  Columbus  here 
felt  an  inward  consciousness  that  this  land  was  a  continent,  for 
the  reason  that  the  name  bestowed  was  the  Land  of  Grace  and 
not  the  Island  of  Grace,  and  says  that  the  admiral  "  did  not 
speak  of  islands  in  this  part  of  his  report."  *  Yet  such  was  the 
uncertainty  and  perplexit}7  of  the  intricate  maze  of  fact  and  con 
jecture  in  which  the  mind  was  involved,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
know  what  Columbus  felt.  He  certainly  was  in  search  of  the 
continent.  In  fact,  he  had  now  found  it. 

Between  the  two  capes  another  pass,  with  a  more  violent  cur 
rent  than  that  of  the  Serpent's  Mouth,  gave  vent  to  the  roaring 
and  struggling  tide,  and  to  this  was  given  the  name  of  the 
Dragon's  Mouth.  From  this  formidable  navigation  he  turned  to 
the  north,  coasting  along  the  inner  coast  of  the  Land  of  Grace, 
intending  on  reaching  its  end  to  sail  northward  through  the 
open  sea  to  Hispaniola.  The  country  was  magnificent  in  fine 
harbors,  in  cultivated  fields,  lofty  forests,  and  great  streams. 
Having  already  observed  the  freshness  of  the  water,  this  close 
observer  of  nature  saw  with  amazement  that  it  grew  more  fresh 
as  he  advanced,  and  the  sea  was  remarkably  quiet.  Little  did 
he  seem  to  know  or  conjecture  that  he  was  before  and  within 
the  delta  of  the  mighty  river  Orinoco.  On  Sunday,  August  5th, 
Columbus,  according  to  the  Count  de  Lorgues,  anchored,  and, 
having  landed,  solemn  possession  was  taken  of  the  continent, 
and  a  larofe  cross  erected  on  the  shore.  But  I  can  find  elsewhere 


*  Fiske's  "Discovery  of  America,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  490,  491  ;  Winsor's  "  Columbus," 
etc.,  p.  354  ;  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  by  the  Count  de  Lorgues,  translated  by  Dr.  Barry, 
p.  370;  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  114. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  353 

no  confirmation  of  this  statement.*  On  the  following  day  he 
held  his  first  intercourse  with  the  natives,  who  had  proved  them 
selves  so  far  timid  and  shy  of  these  strange  and  fearful  visitors. 
As  usual,  the  timidity  of  the  Indians  was  overcome  by  kindness 
and  presents.  Several  of  them  were  taken  on  board  to  serve  as 
guides.  These  people  were  tall,  finely  formed,  and  graceful  of 
motion.  The  men  were  armed  with  bows,  arrows,  and  targets, 
and  wore  cotton  cloths  around  their  heads  and  loins,  which  were 
so  elegantly  wrought  as  to  resemble  silk  ;  but  the  women  were 
entirely  naked.  Singularly  enough,  the  sense  of  smell  was  the 
principal  or  usual  means  by  which  they  tested  everything,  such 
as  the  presents,  the  ships,  and  the  persons  of  the  Spaniards. 
They  informed  the  admiral  that  the  name  of  the  country  was 
Paria.  Proceeding  farther  along  the  coast  a  distance  of  eight 
leagues,  to  a  point  which  he  called  the  Needle,  his  eyes  were 
ravished  by  beholding  a  country  of  unsurpassed  richness  and 
beauty.  Its  cultivated  fields  and  orchards,  fruits,  flowers,  and 
birds  of  brilliant  plumage  won  for  it  the  name  of  the  Gardens. 
Here  the  natives  welcomed  them  with  genuine  hospitality,  treat 
ing  them  with  a  reverence  inspired  by  their  supposed  descent 
from  heaven.  Gold  and  pearls  were  seen  in  abundance,  the 
former  of  an  inferior  quality  ;  but  the  latter  were  fine.  "  I  cast 
anchor,"  said  the  admiral,  "  in  order  to  have  more  leisure  to 
contemplate  this  verdure,  this  beautiful  country  and  its  inhabit 
ants."  The  abundance  of  the  pearls,  which  the  natives  wore  in 
strings  about  their  persons,  and  to  which  they  attached  no  ex 
traordinary  value,  awakened  the  philosophic  and  commercial 
studies  of  the  admiral,  while  they  stimulated  the  cupidity  of  his 
followers.  The  former  saw  in  them  the  confirmation  of  the 
theory  of  Jayme  Ferrer,  the  eminent  lapidary  of  Burgos,  and  he 
imagined  he  realized  in  this  fair  land  of  ideal  beauty,  where  the 
dew  of  the  atmosphere  was  clear  and  abundant  as  the  oysters  in 
the  waters  were  unlimited,  the  realization  of  Pliny's  beautiful 
yet  poetic  fancy,  that  pearls  were  formed  by  the  dewdrops  falling 
into  the  mouth  of  the  oyster.  But  Las  Casas,  with  blended 
knowledge  and  fancy,  dissipated  the  admiral's  exuberant  hopes 

*  There  is  a  partial  confirmation  of  the  landing,  which  one  of  the  witnesses  said  was 
done  by  deputy,  but  this  is  denied  by  others.  The  condition  of  the  admiral's  health 
and  his  desire  to  reach  Hispaniola  are  sufficient  to  discredit  any  statement  as  to  his 
landing  and  holding  religious  services. 


354  OLD    AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

by  the  statement  that  the  oysters  of  Paria  were  not  the  pearl- 
producing  variety,  while  the  peerless  pearl,  as  if  conscious  of  its 
value,  with  instinctive  self-preservation  buried  itself  in  the 
deepest  waters.*  And  yet  it  may  be  added  that  the  exquisite 
rays  of  light  and  beauty  from  the  pearl,  piercing  the  deepest 
waters  and  seeking  union  with  the  solar  rays,  ever  reached  the 
surface  and  danced  upon  the  rippling  waves  above.  In  contrast 
with  the  cupidity  of  the  early  European  treasure-seekers  of  those 
adventurous  days  was  the  broad  and  noble  aspirations  of  the 
admiral,  who  saw  in  these  gems  emblems  of  divine  beauty,  and 
the  links  that  were  to  unite  the  most  distant  nations  in  the  bonds 
of  commerce  ;  or,  may  we  not  recall  the  elegance  of  Milton's 
line,  each  word  a  pearl  of  beauty,  when,  following  the  theory  of 
Pliny,  he  exclaimed, 

"  And  those  pearls  of  dew  she  wears  !" 

Leaving  the  Gardens  on  August  loth,  the  admiral  directed  his 
fleet  westward  ;  but  as  he  advanced  the  water  became  sweeter 
and  sweeter,  and  a  caravel — the  Correo — sent  to  explore  returned 
with  the  report  of  successive  gulfs,  in  which  the  water  was  sweet 
and  fresh  ;  and  though  the  report  represented  these  lands  thus 
divided  by  small  passes  or  gulfs  of  water  to  be  an  united  land, 
the  conclusion  was  so  fixed  in  his  mind  that  the  immediate  lands 
he  saw  seemed  like  islands,  and  he  named  two  of  them  Isabella 
and  Tramontura.  In  fact,  the  first  lands  and  waters  opposite  to 
Trinidad  which  he  encountered  were  the  delta  of  the  Orinoco, 
and  now  he  stood  before  the  delta  of  the  river  Cuparipari,  now 
known  as  the  Paria.  Led  by  the  information  of  the  Indians,  he 
called  the  small  gulf  he  now  sailed  across  the  Gulf  of  Pearls, 
though  the  keenest  eyes  could  not  discern  the  dance  of  the  pearl 
ray  upon  the  waves. 

So  sweet  was  the  water  that  the  admiral  said,  "  I  never  drank 
such."  Disappointed  in  finding  here  a  passage  to  the  north,  he 
changed  his  course  to  the  east  on  August  nth,  and  on  the  I4th 
the  ships  were  fearfully  struggling  to  make  their  way  through 
the  surging  waters  of  the  Dragon's  Mouth.  While  in  the  middle 
of  this  pass  the  winds  ceased,  and  it  was  only  the  impetuosity  of 
the  waters  that  carried  him  through  safely  to  the  open  sea, 


*  Las    Casas,    "Hist.  Ind.,"    cap.    136;     Pliny's    Works;  Irving's    "Columbus,'" 
vol.  ii.,  p.  1 20  ;  Barry's  De  Lorgues*  "  Columbus,"  p.  372. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  35$ 

greatly  to  the  relief  of  all  on  board.  The  urgency  of  his  return 
to  Hispaniola  prevented  him  from  again  visiting  the  Gulf  of 
Pearls,  and  from  making  an  exploration  of  the  fresh  waters  he 
had  just  visited  ;  for  he  had  wished  to  test  the  report  brought 
by  the  Correo,  that  the  vast  volume  of  seething  fresh  waters 
came  from  the  mouths  of  rivers,  upon  which  subject  he  felt  un 
settled,  believing  it  incredible  that  mere  island  streams  could 
produce  such  a  vast  volume  of  fresh  water,  or  impart  to  them 
such  turbulent  velocity.  Here  it  is  manifest  that  the  vision  of 
the  continent  had  risen  and  shaped  itself  in  his  vigorous  and 
intelligent  mind.  It  was  now  reality. 

Passing  westward  from  the  Dragon's  Mouth,  he  saw  numerous 
islands  ;  named  two  islands  he  saw  Assumption  and  Conception, 
now  supposed  to  be  Tobago  and  Granada  ;  on  the  I5th  the  islands 
of  Margarita  and  Cubaqua,  the  last  of  which  he  approached  to 
obtain  a  supply  of  wood  and  water.  Now  he  seemed  to  be  in 
the  region  of  pearls,  for  on  approaching  Cubaqua  he  saw  Indian 
girls  fishing  for  these  precious  gems,  and  on  sending  some  of  the 
men  ashore  he  procured  from  the  natives,  in  exchange  for  broken 
fragments  of  Vaiencian  plates  and  other  trifles,  pearls  to  the 
amount  of  three  pounds'  weight.  Some  of  the  pearls  were  very 
large,  and  the  collection,  when  sent  to  Spain,  formed  a  grateful 
specimen  of  the  products  of  the  new  empire  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella. 

The  admiral  was  most  anxious  to  continue  his  westward  ex 
ploration  of  the  northern  shore  of  Paria,  and  to  reach  the  regions 
most  abundant,  according  to  Indian  representations,  in  pearls, 
but  a  long-continued  and  increasing  attack  of  ophthalmia  neces 
sitated  his  return  to  Hispaniola.  Turning  all  the  prows  toward 
that  island,  and  leaving  from  necessity  all  further  nautical  obser 
vations  and  reports  to  his  pilots  and  seamen,  he  hastened  thither 
to  recruit  his  suffering  health,  and  with  the  intention  of  sending 
his  brother  Bartholomew  to  continue  and  complete  the  explora 
tion  of  this  interesting  region. 

In  passing  away  from  the  exterior  coast  of  Paria  the  admiral 
noticed  in  front  of  the  cape  three  peaks,  three  islands,  to  which  he 
gave  the  name  of  The  Witnesses,  as  the  Count  de  Lorgues  writes  : 

No  doubt  in  allusion  to  the  three  miraculous  events  of  his  third 
voyage,  which  was  undertaken  in  the  name  of  the  adorable 
Trinity."  The  Conception  and  Assumption  were  named  by 


356  OLD   AND   :;L\V    LIGHTS 

him  in  honor  of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  Carried  westward  by  the 
strong  currents  of  fresh  water  issuing  from  the  Dragon's  Mouth, 
he  sighted  the  island  of  Hispaniola  on  August  iQth,  at  a  point 
fifty  leagues  west  of  the  point  of  his  desire,  the  river  Ozema, 
and  anchored  off  the  small  island  of  Beata.  Having  sent  ashore 
and  procured  as  a  messenger  one  of  the  natives  of  Hispaniola, 
he  dispatched  a  letter  to  his  brother,  the  Adelantado,  announcing 
his  arrival.  Here  having  seen  a  native  bearing  a  cross-bow,  an 
arm  not  permitted  in  the  trade  between  the  Spaniards  and  the 
Indians,  he  feared  that  some  calamity  had  befallen  his  colony,  as 
the  weapon  must  have  been  taken  from  some  murdered  Spaniard. 
Again  setting  sail,  he  arrived  on  August  3Oth  in  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Ozema,  but  no  seaport  had  been  founded  there  as  he 
expected.  On  the  other  hand,  he  had  the  happiness  of  being 
met  here  in  a  caravel  by  his  brother  Bartholomew,  and  the  affec 
tionate  meeting  between  these  two  brothers  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  pictures  drawn  by  the  pen  of  the  historians  of  the 
new  world.  He  arrived  at  Isabella  with  shattered  health.  His 
grand  discoveries  during  his  third  voyage  were  such  that  any 
one  of  them  would  have  been  enough  to  immortalize  his  name. 
The  repose  he  now  needed,  and  which  he  had  hoped  to  find,  was 
denied  to  him  by  the  stirring  events  in  the  grand  and  unparal 
leled  enterprise  in  which  he  was  embarked,  of  bringing  face  to 
face  the  inhabitants  of  two  worlds.  The  old  world  under  his 
leadership  was  advancing  to  the  conquest  of  the  new.  There 
was  no  repose  for  such  a  man  ! 

The  extraordinary  phenomena  of  nature  which  Columbus 
observed  and  sagaciously  pondered  over,  even  while  racked  with 
pain  and  prostrated  with  illness,  were  wholly  without  precedent 
in  the  previous  voyages,  and  were  utterly  new  in  cosmographic 
physiognomy.  His  theories  and  speculations  in  relation  to  them 
form  one  of  the  important  and  interesting  chapters  in  the  history 
of  the  human  mind,  and  in  the  progress  of  mankind  in  its  efforts 
to  assert  its  dominion  over  the  earth.  The  soil  of  these  new 
countries,  the  exuberance  of  spontaneous  vegetation,  the  differ 
ence  between  the  color  of  the  natives  and  of  those  of  Africa 
under  the  same  latitude,  the  mildness  of  the  climate,  the  varia 
tions  in  the  heavenly  constellations,  the  movements  and  directions 
of  the  waves  and  currents,  the  floods  of  struggling  fresh  waters 
apparently  in  the  midst  of  the  sea — these  and  all  other  signs  and 


ON  COLUMBUS.  357 

strange  appearances  of  things  in  the  skies,  atmosphere,  earth,  and 
ocean  impressed  his  active  and  studious  mind  with  the  convic 
tion  that  he  was  now  in  a  perfectly  new  and  before  unseen  grand 
division  of  the  earth,  one  of  its  principal  continents,  and  in 
a  part  where  its  shape  and  elevation  were  exceptional  and 
phenomenal.  While  he  regarded  these  lands  as  the  extreme 
limits  of  Asia,  he  was  led  to  regard  the  vastness  of  the  solid  sur 
face  of  the  earth  as  far  exceeding  the  surface  of  the  waters, 
because  Asia,  as  known  and  as  then  supposed  to  be  extended 
by  his  discovery,  if  one  solid  continent,  would  cover  a  vast 
portion  of  the  earth's  surface.  And  yet,  as  the  Count  de 
Lorgues  contends,  he  knew,  without  our  being  able  to  tell  how, 
that  beyond  that  continent,  from  which  there  came  so  large  a 
river,  there  was  still  an  ocean.  He  had  many  authors  at  his 
ready  command  to  support  his  theories,  and  in  his  letter  or 
report  to  the  Spanish  sovereigns  he  quotes  from  Aristotle  and 
Seneca  and  from  St.  Augustine  and  Cardinal  Pedro  de  Alliaco. 
Was  it  not  also  revealed  in  Esdras  that  of  the  entire  surface  of 
the  earth  six  parts  were  dry  land  and  one  part  was  water  ?  He 
had  gone  farther  than  any  other  discoverer  to  solve  this  problem, 
then  new,  but  now  so  familiar. 

In  all  the  early  stages  of  human  knowledge  there  is  much  of 
error  mingled  with  new  and  prodigious  truths  ;  in  this  remark 
able  instance,  however,  the  world  accords  to  Columbus  the  great 
glory  of  having  discovered  the  western  continent. 

Advancing  into  the  realm  of  cosmographic  theory,  deduced 
from  the  apparent  features  of  earth,  sea,  and  skies,  Columbus 
gave  to  the  world  his  theory  of  the  earth's  shape.  While  Aris 
totle  located  the  highest  culmination  of  the  earth  under  the  Ant 
arctic  Pole,  and  other  scholars  had  placed  it  under  the  Arctic 
Pole,  he  argued,  from  all  he  saw  arid  felt,  that  it  was  in  fact 
under  the  equator.  He  alluded  in  cogent  terms  to  the  change 
he  observed  in  the  sky  and  stars,  the  temperature  of  the  air  and 
the  calmness  of  the  ocean,  the  variations  of  the  needle  from 
northeast  to  northwest,  the  apparent  diurnal  circle  described 
by  the  north  star,  and  other  physical  phenomena  which  occur 
red  after  he  had  passed  the  ideal  line  drawn  from  pole  to 
pole  one  hundred  leagues  west  of  the  Azores.  On  his  third 
voyage,  so  much  farther  to  the  south,  he  passed  from  a 
region  of  intense  heat  to  one  of  equable  and  delightful  tern- 


358  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

perature  ;  the  ocean  was  free  from  winds,  the  weather  serene, 
the  air  most  pure,  the  soil  most  enriched.  He  saw  his  ships 
struggling  to  surmount  an  immense  and  continental  swelling  of 
the  waters  of  the  earth  toward  the  heavens,  and  the  lands,  in 
reaching  them,  must  also  rise  in  the  same  proportion,  for  he  saw 
and  felt  and  tasted  the  fresh  waters  rushing  in  immense  volumes 
upon  the  lower  earth  from  above,  and  sweetening  the  ocean  for 
many  leagues.  Perceiving  this  swell  of  the  planet  at  the  equator, 
he  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  earth  is  shaped  like  a  pear, 
and  that  the  elevated  part  of  the  pear,  ending  in  the  stem,  repre. 
sented  the  highest  elevation  and  shape  of  the  earth  under  the 
equator.  He  goes  further,  and  conjectures  that  the  culminating 
point  of  the  equatorial  swelling  is  the  site  of  the  terrestrial  Para 
dise,  the  home  of  our  first  parents,  the  Mosaic  scene  of  the 
creation  of  man. 

However  mingled  with  fanciful  theories  his  conclusions  may 
have  been  and  are  now  proved  to  have  been  by  much  later 
scientific  knowledge,  the  great  historic  fact  remains  triumphant 
that  Christopher  Columbus  was  the  unchallenged  discoverer  of 
the  equatorial  swelling.  While  he  erred  only  in  degree  in  re 
lation  to  the  elevation  of  the  earth,  he  was  far  in  advance  of  the 
contemporaneous  scientific  world,  for  scientists  have  now  ascer 
tained  and  decided,  that  the  earth  is  a  spheroid,  slightly  elevated 
in  circumference  at  the  equator,  thus  substantially  verifying  the 
fact  discovered  by  Columbus,  though  not  confirming  his  con 
clusions  therefrom.  The  location  of  Paradise  is  still  a  subject  of 
learned  speculation.  » 

We  have  already  related  how  Columbus  saw  and  was  amazed 
at  the  rush  of  fresh  waters  through  the  passes  and  channels  of 
the  Paria  Gulf,  and  how  with  warmth  of  temperature  they  made 
their  way  northward  and  carried  onward  his  fleet,  in  its  course 
to  Hispaniola,  far  to  the  west  of  his  reckonings.  It  was  in  these 
new  and  closely  studied  phenomena  that  the  admiral  became  the 
discoverer  of  the  oceanic  current  known  in  our  times  as  the  Gulf 
Stream.* 

A  remarkable  trait  in  the  character  of  Columbus  was  his  power, 
physical,  moral,  and  mental,  to  make  any  exertion,  or  to 
perform  any  work,  however  difficult  to  others,  under  the  most 


*  On  this  subject  see  Irving,  Tarducci,  De  Lorgues,  Winsor,  and  other  historians. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  359 

severe  prostrations  of  bodily  disease  or  of  mental  distress.  The 
report  or  relation  of  this  voyage,  which  he  wrote  to  the  sover 
eigns,  was  dictated  by  him  to  his  secretary  at  sea,  from  his  sick 
bed,  while  racked  with  the  pains  of  gout,  tortured  with  violent 
and  acute  ophthalmia,  exhausted  in  body,  fatigued  beyond  ordi 
nary  endurance  by  the  watchings  and  labors  of  this  voyage, 
almost  blind,  struggling  in  the  service  of  an  ungrateful  king, 
expanding  by  his  genius  the  realms  of  the  world,  and  returning 
to  the  scenes  of  his  solicitude  and  struggles,  the  first  colony  of 
Europeans  in  the  new. world,  from  whose  past  disasters  he  drew 
the  sad  anticipations  of  strife  and  trouble.  Yet  he  continued  to 
observe  every  sign  that  nature  gave,  every  pulsation  of  ocean, 
^very  feature  of  the  earth,  every  breath  of  the  atmosphere,  every 
phenomenon  of  the  heavens  ;  he  had  them  all  recorded.  His  mind, 
unclouded  by  illness  or  pain  ;  his  memory,  stored  with  consider 
able  learning  and  science  of  the  past  and  present ;  his  clear  judg 
ment — all  these  united  in  the  preparation  of  that  document  which 
aroused  the  mind  of  Europe,  and  advanced  the  world  beyond  the 
achievements  of  past  centuries.  Of  it  the  Count  de  Lorgues 
rather  extravagantly  writes  :  "  This  document  bears  the  charac 
ter  of  improvision,  giving  utterance  to  the  abundance  of  his 
thoughts.  The  condensed  erudition  of  Columbus  would  be 
noticed  there,  if  it  did  not  totally  disappear  before  the  grandeur 
of  the  syntheses,  the  immensity  of  the  views,  the  profoundness 
of  the  revelations,  and  the  new  speculations  offered  by  him  to 
the  reflections  of  his  contemporaries.  This  document  contains 
intrinsic  proofs  of  its  being  written  during  the  passage  from 
Margarita  to  Hispaniola."  * 

Though  on  his  arrival  at  Hispaniola  he  was  almost  blind,  and 
pale,  emaciated,  and  prostrated,  he  found  the  events  which  trans 
pired  during  his  absence  had  fanned  the  previous  discontents  into  a 
flame.  The  mute  prophecy  of  the  cross-bow  he  saw  in  the  hands 
of  an  Indian  at  the  river  Ozema  became  realized  by  the  disorder 
and  violence  prevailing  on  his  arrival.  Wrecked  in  health  him 
self,  he  had  now  to  witness  the  wreck  of  all  his  hopes.  It  was 
on  March  loth,  1496,  that  he  had  sailed  for  Spain,  and  he  re- 


*  De  Lorgues'  "Columbus,"  Dr.  Barry,  p.  380;  Irving's  "Columbus,"  pp.  128- 
36;  Peter  Martyr,  dec.  i.,  lib.  vi.,  "  Historia  del  Almirante,"  cap.  66;  Navarrete, 
"Colec.  de  Viajes,"  torn,  i.,  p.  242  ;  Muftoz,  "  Hist,  del  Nuevo  Mundo,"lib.  vi.,  §  32. 


360  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

turned  on  August  3Oth,  1498,  a  period  of  eighteen  months  and 
twenty  days.  The  provisions  sent  out  on  the  three  caravels 
under  Pedro  Alonzo  Nino,  in  consequence  of  the  misconduct  of 
the  Bureau  of  the  Indies  under  Fonseca,  were  of  bad  quality  and 
had  spoiled  on  the  voyage,  and  fourteen  months  elapsed  from 
this  time  to  the  arrival  of  the  supplies  sent  by  the  admiral  under 
Pedro  Coronel.  During  this  period  no  tidings  had  been  received 
from  the  mother  country  ;  the  colonists  considered  themselves 
forgotten  and  doomed  to  perish  in  this  remote  wilderness  ;  their 
clothes,  implements,  tools,  and  utensils  had  worn  out.  The  proud 
hidalgos  and  spirited  young  Spaniards,  who  had  come  out  to 
amass  golden  fortunes,  found  themselves  in  rags,  or  wearing 
grotesque  clothes  made  of  the  bark  of  trees  or  of  native  cotton. 
They  all  united  in  casting  the  blame  of  their  ruin  and  humiliation 
upon  their  best  friend,  the  admiral. 

The  Adelantado  took  steps  immediately,  on  the  departure  of  the 
admiral,  to  carry  out  his  brother's  directions  for  the  development 
and  working  of  the  mines  of  Hayna,  and  here  was  erected  Fort 
San  Christopher,  called  by  the  workmen  the  Golden  Tower, 
from  the  grains  of  gold  found  in  the  stone  and  earth  used  in  its 
erection.  On  the  Ozema  was  erected  Fort  Isabella,  afterward 
changed  in  name  to  San  Domingo,  the  foundation  of  the  present 
city  of  that  name.  This  was  done  in  compliance  with  the  orders 
of  the  admiral,  received  at  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  Coronel 
with  provisions.  Having  a  -large  force  under  his  immediate 
command,  while  Don  Diego  remained  at  Isabella  with  the  other 
forces  and  the  colonists,  he  found  it  difficult  to  feed  his  men. 
The  Indians  had  ceased  to  extend  their  primitive  hospitality  to 
their  celestial  visitors,  now  their  conquerors,  and  they  themselves 
laid  up  no  food  in  advance,  but  lived  from  hand  to  mouth. 
Having  acquired  many  of  the  customs  of  their  European  con 
querors,  among  which  was  that  of  exacting  a  price  for  all  they 
parted  with,  they  suffered  all  the  time  from  the  exactions  of  the 
tribute  by  their  taskmasters.  Having  completed  Fort  Christo 
pher,  the  Adelantado  left  a  garrison  there,  and  went  with  the  re 
mainder  of  his  force  to  the  Vega  in  order  to  exact  the  tribute  from 
Guarionex,  his  tributary  caciques,  and  his  subjects,  from  whom 
also  he  received  food  until  the  arrival  of  supplies  from  Spain. 
After  completing  the  Fort  San  Domingo  and  garrisoning  it,  the 
Adelantado  repaired  with  his  remaining  soldiers  to  the  remote 


ON   COLUMBUS.  361 

western  province  of  Xaragua,  which  was  ruled  over  by  Behechio, 
with  whom  resided  his  sister,  the  widow  of  Caonabo,  the  beauti 
ful  Anacaona.  She  was  not  only  beautiful  in  person  and  grace 
ful  in  her  carriage,  she  was  intelligent,  sagacious,  and  gifted  with 
prudence  and  forethought.  She  and  her  husband  gave  ample 
proof  of  the  capacity  of  the  American  aborigines  for  receiving 
and  developing  our  civilization,  and  their  conduct  and  lives, 
on  the  whole,  did  not  contrast  unfavorably  with  those  of  their 
more  favored  European  conquerors. 

Behechio  was  a  ruler  of  ability  and  dignity  ;  he  and  his  nation 
had  neither  recognized  nor  attacked  the  Castilian  usurpation, 
and  as  his  dominions  were  remote  from  the  Spanish  forts  and 
settlements,  this  great  cacique  was  content  to  remain  inactive, 
especially  as  he  had  seen  the  combined  strength  of  the  island 
scattered  and  routed  by  Spanish  soldiers.  It  was  believed  that 
'  The  Golden  Flower"  had  greatly  influenced  her  brother  to  a 
pacific  policy.  Why  should  they  seek  their  own  annihilation  ? 
Might  the,y  not  be  left  securely  alone  by  the  conquerors  of  the 
rest  of  the  island  ?  Obedient  to  Spanish  policy,  the  Adelantado 
regarded  it  as  his  duty  to  bring  this  inoffensive  and  independent 
people  under  Spanish  subjugation.  In  fact,  it  was  regarded  as  a 
necessary  measure,  according  to  the  views  of  European  states 
manship,  that  the  Spanish  soldiers  must  be  kept  busy  at  something, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  spread  in  their  ranks  of  still  greater  demor 
alization  than  already  existed,  and  to  maintain  their  discipline. 
Accordingly  the  Adelantado  marched  at  the  head  of  his  forces, 
prepared  for  war,  but  under  the  pretext  of  going  on  an  explor 
ing  expedition.  Behechio,  with  a  natural  sense  of  pride  and 
right,  assembled  an  army  of  forty  thousand  men,  divided  into 
cohorts,  for  the  defence  of  his  dominions.  At  this  juncture  ' '  The 
Golden  Flower,"  as  a  medium  of  peace,  induced  her  brother  to 
disband  his  army.  The  Adelantado  also  assured  the  chief  in  an 
interview  that  his  intentions  were  friendly.  The  chief  thus  saved 
his  people  from  slaughter,  but  did  not  secure  them  from  becom 
ing  subject  and  tributary  to  the  Spaniards.  The  Adelantado 
was  invited  to  the  royal  residence,  received  with  eminent  dis 
tinction,  and  entertained  in  regal  style  at  a  grand  banquet,  which 
was  graced  by  the  presence  of  "  The  Golden  Flower."  The 
skilful  diplomacy  of  the  Adelantado  secured  from  the  unsuspect 
ing  cacique  the  voluntary  payment  of  tribute,  which,  however, 


362  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

as  his  dominions  contained  no  gold,  the  Adelantado  graciously 
consented  to  receive  in  provisions.  The  Spaniards  were  enter 
tained  with  unstinted  hospitality  for  several  days,  were  quartered 
in  the  houses  of  the  cacique  and  his  people,  and  were  amused 
with  Indian  games  and  exercises.  One  of  the  entertainments 
given  in  honor  of  the  Spaniards  was  a  mock  battle  between  two 
squadrons  of  naked  warriors  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  and 
performed  in  a  manner  somewhat  similar  to  a  game  of  Moorish 
canes,  with  which  the  Spaniards  had  been  familiar  at  home,  and 
somewhat  similar  in  its  sanguinary  results,  and  in  the  pleasure  it 
gave  to  the  Spaniards,  to  their  national  sport  of  the  bull-fight. 
The  contestants  grew  heated  in  the  mock  fray,  four  were  killed, 
many  were  wounded,  and  greater  carnage  was  about  to  follow, 
when  the  Adelantado  and  several  of  the  cavaliers  present  re 
quested  the  game  to  be  stopped,  though  it  is  related  that  the 
brutal  results  had  "  seemed  to  increase  the  interest  and  pleasure 
of  the  spectators." 

Before  the  departure  of  the  admiral  for  Spain  he  had  found  it 
necessary  to  impose  severe  restrictions  on  the  search  for  gold  by 
the  Spaniards,  and  on  the  working  of  the  newly  discovered  mines 
of  Hayna.  Hosts  of  covetous  idlers  and  broken-down  hidalgos 
from  Spanish  cities  had  come  out  to  Hispaniola  on  this  second 
voyage,  dazzled  by  the  specimens  of  gold  brought  back  from  the 
first  voyage,  and  the  colony  contained  many  lawless  adventurers, 
who  respected  no  rights  in  the  Indians,  and  outraged  them  in 
their  property,  their  homes,  and  in  all  their  dearest  affections. 
It  was  necessary  to  impose  restraint  upon  such  outlaws.  Hav 
ing  observed  that  the  Indians  themselves  had  attributed  a  certain 
value  to  gold,  and  in  order  to  discover  the  richest  beds  they 
made  long  voyages  and  journeys  and  performed  religious  fasts, 
observed  continency  for  twenty  days,  and  other  rites  and  cere 
monies,  the  admiral  threw  around  the  precious  metal  some  similar 
restrictions,  based  upon  the  holy  purposes  for  which  the  gold  was 
intended  to  be  used,  such  as  the  rescuing  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre. 
With  this  view,  he  required  of  these  desperadoes,  who  had 
sought  their  fortunes  by  attaching  themselves  to  his,  that  they 
should  reform  their  lives,  refrain  from  violence,  observe  conti 
nency,  practise  fasts,  repent  of  their  sins  and  approach  the  sacra 
ments  before  they  would  be  permitted  to  work  the  mines  ;  and 
he  gave  this  license  only  to  such  as  would  lead  a  regular  life. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  363 

and  receive  the  services  of  the  priests  or  missionaries  of  the 
colony.  Don  Bartholomew  had  endeavored  rigidly  to  carry  out 
these  measures  of  the  admiral  during  the  latter's  absence.  These 
regulations  interfered  with  these  avaricious  adventurers  and  mal 
contents,  who  had  not  been  able  to  return  to  Spain  with  Aguado, 
and  the  discontents  already  existing  now  began  to  spread  and 
assume  a  formidable  shape. 

When  the  Adelantado  returned  to  Isabella  from  Xaragua  new 
sources  of  disaffection  had  been  at  work,  and  he  immediately 
saw  the  fruits  they  produced.  Death,  hunger,  improvidence, 
sickness,  sloth,  that  had  prevented  the  raising  of  food  by  the 
cultivation  of  an  almost  spontaneous  soil,  the  recoil  of  the  Indians 
from  feeding  their  oppressors,  the  lust  for  gold,  had  produced 
misery,  poverty,  and  insubordination.  The  most  civilized  people 
of  Europe  were  actually  starving,  while  they  listlessly  roamed 
over  a  soil  which  produced  luxuriant  crops  in  three  or  four  weeks 
after  the  sowing  of  the  seed.  What  a  spectacle  for  savages  to 
witness  !  Don  Bartholomew  was,  however,  fertile  in  expedients. 
He  ordered  the  building  of  two  caravels  ;  he  distributed  the  sick 
and  feeble  through  the  country,  where  better  air  and  food  were 
attainable  ;  and  he  prosecuted  the  work  of  erecting  military 
posts  and  houses,  five  in  number  :  the  Esperanza,  nine  leagues 
from  Isabella  ;  Santa  Catalina,  six  leagues  farther  off ;  Mag- 
dalena,  four  and  a  half  leagues  farther,  and  on  the  site  of  the 
first  town  of  Santiago  ;  and  Fort  Conception,  in  the  Vega,  and 
near  the  residence  of  the  cacique  Guarionex.  The  construction 
of  the  caravels  and  the  building  of  the  forts  had  the  temporary 
effect  of  relieving  the  tedium  of  the  idle,  and  of  occupying  the 
thoughts  and  perhaps  the  hopes  of  the  discontented.  The  city 
of  Isabella  was  relieved  of  its  vicious  or  useless  population,  and 
the  Adelantado,  leaving  a  sufficient  garrison  there,  repaired  with 
his  best  soldiers  to  San  Domingo,  near  the  newly  discovered 
mines  of  gold. 

The  pious  missionaries  who  did  not  follow  their  superior, 
Father  Boil,  to  Spain,  and  whose  names  were  Roman  Pane  and 
Juan  Borgognon,  had  been  zealously  laboring  for  the  conversion 
of  the  Indians  in  the  Vega.  In  one  instance  a  family  of  sixteen 
embraced  the  faith  under  the  example  of  Juan  Mateo,  and 
even  the  grand  cacique  Guarionex  seemed  on  the  eve  of  doing 
the  same,  when  the  reproaches  and  ridicule  of  his  tributary 


364  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

caciques  and  people,  and  the  outrages  he  received  from  the 
Christian  Spaniards,  and  especially  his  latest  wrong  in  the  seduc 
tion  and  outrage  of  his  favorite  wife  by  the  Spaniards,  repelled 
him  from  the  temple  he  was  about  to  enter.  The  chapel  at  the 
Vega  mission  was  sacked  and  desecrated  by  the  natives,  and 
though  the  offenders  met  with  agonizing  deaths  at  the  stake,  by 
order  of  the  Adelantado,  the  missionaries,  with  Juan  Mateo, 
their  convert,  removed  to  another  district. 

Punishments  of  such  a  cruel  character  did  not  make  converts 
but  rather  enemies  of  the  natives.  Had  mercy  been  extended  to 
these  poor  people,  much  suffering  and  bloodshed  that  followed 
would  have  been  spared.  But  in  the  position  in  which  they 
stood  Columbus  and  his  brothers  deemed  it  imperative  on  all 
occasions  to  inspire  the  natives  with  an  overpowering  idea  of 
Spanish  power  and  justice.  It  was  thus  that  this  vast  and  beauti 
ful  region  was  thrown  into  disorder,  rebellion,  bloodshed,  and 
cruel  conquest.  Pacific  of  nature,  Guarionex  was  goaded  on  by 
the  appeals  of  his  tributary  caciques  and  his  subjects  to  rebel 
against  the  tyranny  of  the  Spaniards.  The  fate  of  the  brave  and 
powerful  Caonabo  and  his  people  could  not  deter  him  from  so 
desperate  an  attempt,  nor  even  a  tradition  in  his  family  that  a 
strange  nation  would  come  among  them,  make  him  and  his 
people  slaves  and  seize  his  country,  could  suppress  the  natural 
and  righteous  outbreak  of  an  injured  race.  The  courage  of 
despair  aroused  the  native  tribes  and  their  chiefs.  A  conspiracy 
was  entered  into  secretly  to  massacre  the  Spaniards  at  Fort  Con 
ception,  few  in  number  ;  and  in  order  to  allay  suspicion  at  the 
simultaneous  assembling  of  so  many  natives,  the  day  for  the 
payment  of  the  tribute  was  selected  for  the  purpose.  Many 
thousands  of  Indians  were  assembled  in  the  Vega  on  that  day, 
and  at  a  concerted  signal  they  were  to  wreak  vengeance  on  their 
oppressors.  If  the  first  blow  struck  at  the  Spanish  usurpation 
proved  successful,  the  insurgents  would  be  emboldened  to  strike 
another  and  another,  until  the  aborigines  recovered  their  natural 
and  pristine  liberty  and  independence,  for  the  first  success  would 
call  out  to  arms  the  whole  native  population  of  Hispaniola. 

But  the  treachery  of  a  native  betrayed  the  conspirators.  The 
doomed  garrison  at  Fort  Conception  received  a  warning.  The 
garrison  sent  a  native  with  their  letter  of  appeal  to  the 
Adelantado  for  assistance,  and  as  the  Indians  had  a  superstitious 


ON  COLUMBUS.  365 

fear  of  letters,  so  potent  in  their  recent  experiences  to  convey 
information,  and  so  gifted  as  they  believed  with  the  power  of 
speech,  the  letter  was  concealed  in  a  reed  or  staff.  The  vigilant 
Indians  intercepted  the  hastening  courier,  whose  speed  was  his 
only  betrayer  ;  but  he  assumed  the  role  of  a  lame  and  sick  man 
hastening  home  so  successfully  that  he  was  permitted  to  con 
tinue  his  journey.  He  reached  the  Adelantado  at  San  Domingo, 
and  that  officer  was  the  man  for  the  emergency.  With  troops 
already  exhausted  by  poor  fare,  hardships  and  long  marches,  he 
was  yet  on  the  spot  just  in  time  to  save  his  countrymen.  With 
characteristic  skill  and  sagacity  he  divided  his  men  into  as  many 
squads  as  there  were  caciques,  and  put  an  officer  over  each 
squad.  The  respective  villages  were  quietly  entered  at  mid 
night,  the  fourteen  caciques  were  seized,  bound,  and  immediately 
hurried  off  and  imprisoned  in  the  fortress  before  their  astonished 
people  could  lift  a  hand  for  them.  Devoted  to  their  chiefs  and 
destitute  of  other  leaders,  the  natives  submitted,  and  piteously 
sued  for  the  release  of  their  chiefs,  surrounding  the  fortress  and 
sorrowfully,  with  grievous  yells  and  doleful  lamentations,  implor 
ing  their  release.  The  Adelantado  acted  with  consummate 
ability.  He  caused  two  caciques,  the  ringleaders  of  the  rebel 
lion,  to  be  executed,  and  the  rest  he  released.  Guarionex,  so 
gentle  and  so  reluctant  to  rebel,  though  so  shamefully  wronged, 
was  pardoned,  and  the  Spaniards  who  had  committed  the  hein 
ous  outrage  upon  his  wife  received  severe  punishment.  Favors 
and  promises  of  favor  were  bestowed  upon  the  released  chiefs  as 
inducements  to  them  to  maintain  themselves  and  their  people  in 
peace  and  subjection.  Guarionex  in  a  public  address  exhorted 
his  subjects  to  peace,  and  they  in  turn  carried  him  on  their 
shoulders  to  his  home  amid  joyous  songs  and  shouts  of  gratitude 
for  the  kind  treatment  he  had  received  from  the  Spaniards. 
Peace  now  reigned  in  the  Royal  Vega  by  the  address  and  vigor 
of  the  Adelantado,  who  had  himself  led  the  squad  that  captured 
the  principal  cacique,  Guarionex. 

Revolts  among  his  own  people,  growing  out  of  the  widespread 
discontent  and  the  results  of  misconduct  on  the  part  of  the  col 
onists,  were  not  so  easily  handled.  With  characteristic  sagacity 
the  Adelantado  kept  the  malcontents  and  all  the  soldiers  and 
people  as  busily  engaged  as  possible.  Having  completed  the 
forts  and  the  caravels,  he  made  an  expedition  to  Xaragua  to 


366  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

receive  the  tribute  of  Behechio,  Anacaona,  and  their  people,  for 
word  was  received  that  the  cotton  was  ready  for  delivery  to  the 
tax-gatherer.  Received  with  every  mark  of  honor  by  his  royal 
hosts,  who  not  only  paid  tribute  in  sufficient  cotton  to  fill  a  house, 
but  also  volunteered  to  give  cassava  bread  without  stint,  the 
Adelantado  and  his  followers  were  entertained  continuously  with 
feasts  and  games,  and  this  beautiful  region,  remote  and  not  yet 
wholly  desolated  by  the  march  of  civilization,  presented  a  specta 
cle  of  grandeur,  peace,  abundance,  and  native  gentleness  and 
grace  that  captivated  the  hearts  of  the  Spaniards.  The  cotton 
and  the  grateful  present  of  cassava  bread  were  sent  back  in  a 
caravel.  The  generous  Behechio  and  the  beautiful  Anacaona 
lavished  other  presents  upon  their  visitors  from  their  long- 
treasured  collections,  such  as  beautiful  and  ingenious  specimens 
of  manufactured  cotton,  pottery  of  various  and  graceful  forms, 
and  tables,  chairs,  and  other  furniture  wrought  in  ebony  and 
other  fine  woods  with  skill  and  elegance  astonishing  in  a  barbar 
ous  people  destitute  of  metallic  tools  or  of  the  arts.  When  the 
caravel  was  about  to  sail  the  royal  hosts  and  their  people  came 
down  to  the  water  in  great  numbers  to  see  the  great  canoe  and 
marvel  at  its  wonderful  size,  shape,  and  motions.  In  turn  the 
Adelantado  entertained  his  native  friends  with  music,  the  dis 
charge  of  cannon,  and  the  astonishing  movements  of  the  ship, 
which,  to  the  amazement  of  the  Indians,  seemed  perfectly  under 
the  control  of  the  Spaniards.  But  the  discharge  of  the  cannon 
in  the  ship  spread  dismay  and  fear  among  these  gentle  people  ; 
the  savages  seemed  so  frightened  that  they  were  about  to  rush 
into  the  sea  and  drown  themselves,  and  the  dismayed  Anacaona, 
stunned  with  fright,  fell  convulsively  into  the  arms  of  the  Ade 
lantado.  The  caravel  sailed  for  Isabella  amid  the  admiring  ex 
clamations  of  Behechio  and  his  people,  and  freighted  with  tribute 
for  the  government  and  bread  for  the  hungry  citizens  of  Isabella. 
The  Adelantado,  after  giving  presents  freely  to  his  generous 
hosts,  returned  overland  to  the  city. 

The  plots  and  conspiracies  of  civilized  man  were  more  deliber 
ate,  more  organized,  and  more  determined  than  the  inconsiderate 
and  sudden  insurrections  of  the  gentler  Indians.  The  spirit  of 
discontent,  the  disappointments  of  adventurers,  the  lust  of  gold, 
which  had  supplanted  the  works  of  industry  and  husbandry,  and 
the  machinations  of  enemies  in  both  hemispheres,  had  sowed  the 


ON   COLUMBUS.  367 

seeds  of  trouble  and  disaster,  of  which  the  admiral  and  his 
brothers  had  now  to  reap  the  harvest.  Aguado  had  found  a 
congenial  spirit  in  the  very  service  of  Columbus,  in  the  person 
of  Francisco  Roldan,  a  man  who  from  obscurity  and  ignorance 
had,  by  the  favor  and  confidence  of  the  admiral,  been  raised 
from  one  employment  of  profit  and  trust  to  another.  From  menial 
services  in  the  admiral's  household  he  was  gradually  promoted, 
and  became  alcalde  or  justice  of  the  peace,  and  finally  alcalde 
mayor,  or  chief  justice.  The  meanness  of  his  character  would 
simply  have  escaped  notice  in  his  obscurity  for  want  of  oppor 
tunity  ;  but  in  his  responsible  positions  it  overcame  his  honesty, 
his  truth,  his  loyalty,  and  his  cowardice.  Aguado  had  already  in 
stigated  him  to  revolt,  and  he  went  to  work  with  method  to  de 
velop  his  evil  designs.  Professing  loyalty  to  the  admiral,  he 
commenced  by  insinuating  charges  and  complaints  against  Don 
Bartholomew  and  Don  Diego,  who,  as  foreigners  and  men  in 
authority,  were  easily  assailed,  however  unjustly.  He  encour 
aged  the  murmurs  of  the  working  classes,  and  pandered  to  the 
vices  and  violence  of  sailors,  workmen,  and  criminals.  He  had 
learned  from  the  unworthy  commissary  Aguado  that  the  Bureau 
of  the  Indies  at  Seville,  under  Bishop  Fonseca,  was  deadly  hos 
tile  to  the  admiral,  and  that  Pedro  Margarite,  Father  Boil,  and 
the  malcontents  already  returned  to  Spain  from  Hispaniola 
would  welcome  any  movement,  however  unjust  or  wicked,  for 
his  downfall  and  the  failure  of  his  grand  enterprise.  He  formed 
his  resolution  to  assassinate  Don  Bartholomew  and  place  himself 
in  command  of  the  island  of  Hispaniola.  An  opportunity  had 
presented  itself,  as  was  supposed,  before  the  Adelantado  de 
parted  for  Xaragua  to  collect  the  tribute.  A  criminal  named 
Berahona  had  been  condemned  to  death.  His  crime  is  supposed 
to  have  been  the  outrage  upon  the  wife  of  the  chief  Guarionex, 
and  the  Adelantado  was  to  attend  the  execution.  It  would  be 
easy  to  get  up  a  disturbance  or  excitement  of  some  kind  on  such  an 
occasion,  and  in  the  melc'e  the  Adelantado  could  be  assassinated  as  if 
by  accident.  Berahona  was  also  a  friend  of  Roldan  and  of  others 
of  the  conspirators.  This  plot  was  defeated  by  the  Adelantado's 
pardon  of  the  condemned  man,  and  his  departure  for  Xaragua.* 

*  Herrera,  decad.  i.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  i.  ;  Las  Casas,  "  Hist.  Ind.,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  118; 
"  Hist,  del  Almirante,"  cap.  73  ;  Barry's  translation  of  De  Lorgues*  "  Life  of  Colum 
bus,"  p.  386  et  seq.  ;  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  162. 


368  OLD    AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

During  his  absence  in  that  province  Roldan  industriously 
prosecuted  his  nefarious  purposes  by  bringing  into  his  conspiracy 
all  the  disaffected  colonists,  who  were  numerous.  The  return 
of  the  caravel  to  Isabella  with  the  tribute  paid  by  Behechio  was 
availed  of  to  openly  demand  that,  instead  of  being  drawn  upon 
the  shore,  it  should  be  sent  to  Spain  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
relief  for  the  colony,  and  threats  were  thrown  out  to  seize  it  and 
return  to  Spain  with  complaints  against  the  two  brothers  for 
their  oppressions  of  the  people.  A  tumult  was  being  fomented. 
Roldan,  by  virtue  of  his  office  as  chief  justice,  was  about  to 
assume  command  in  the  interests  of  peace  and  order  in  the  city 
and  colony,  and  Don  Bartholomew  and  Don  Diego,  as  the  guilty 
causes  of  all  these  evils  to  the  island,  were  to  be  put  aside,  per 
haps  murdered.  Don  Diego,  finding  his  just  and  truthful  expla 
nations  and  appeals  in  behalf  of  order  and  authority  ineffectual, 
sent  Roldan,  at  the  head  of  forty  soldiers,  to  the  Vega,  under  the 
pretext  of  overawing  the  natives,  who  had  refused  to  pay  their 
tribute,  or  seemed  bent  on  rebellion.  Roldan  availed  himself  of 
this  opportunity  for  gaining  adherents  to  his  side,  and  even  for 
inducing  the  natives  to  unite  in  his  disloyal  work.  He  persuaded 
the  soldiers  under  his  command  to  join  him  in  his  plot,  and  dis 
missing  such  as  refused,  he  insolently  returned  to  Isabella  as  a 
signal  to  his  sympathizers  there  to  unite  with  him  in  a  demand 
to  float  the  caravel  and  send  her  to  Spain.  The  Adelantado  had 
now  returned  to  Isabella.  Roldan  was  assuming  great  authority 
as  chief  justice,  and  the  Adelantado,  with  characteristic  firm 
ness,  peremptorily  refused  his  demands,  and  gave  Roldan  and 
his  following  to  understand  that  their  designs  were  suspected. 

Roldan,  who  had  latterly  placed  but  little  concealment  over  his 
purposes,  now  broke  out  in  open  defiance,  and  at  the  head  of 
seventy  well-armed  and  resolute  men  he  marched  out  of  Isabella 
toward  the  Vega,  intending  to  set  up  an  independent  rule  of  his 
own  in  another  part  of  the  island.  He  endeavored,  with  some 
success,  to  seduce  the  Spanish  soldiers  quartered  in  the  Indian 
villages  through  which  he  passed  to  join  his  forces,  and  by 
alternate  force  and  persuasion  endeavored  to  secure  possession 
of  Fort  Conception,  under  Miguel  Ballester,  and  of  the  military 
post  at  the  village  of  Guarionex  under  Garcia  de  Barrantes. 
Failing  in  the  last  two  efforts,  he  seized  the  provisions  of  the 
latter  post,  and  thence  marched  with  his  augmented  forces  to 


ON   COLUMBUS.  369 

the  attack  of  Fort  Conception.  Such  was  the  widespread  dis 
affection  which  Margarite,  Father  Boll,  Aguado,  and  Roldan 
had  created  throughout  Hispaniola,  conscious  as  they  were  that 
Fonseca  at  Seville  was  secretly  if  not  openly  sustaining  them, 
that  the  Adelantado,  usually  so  prompt,  hesitated  what  to  do. 
The  Adelantado  knew  that  many  officials  and  leading  men  were 
in  concert  with  Roldan,  and  he  feared  for  the  loyalty  of  Ballester, 
the  commander  of  Fort  Conception.  But  no  sooner  had  he 
received  a  message  from  the  latter,  urging  the  sending  of  assist 
ance,  than  he  immediately  sallied  forth,  and  soon  entered  the  fort 
with  his  reinforcements.  Uncertain  of  the  strength  of  Roldan 
.and  his  rebels,  which  was  steadily  increasing,  he  deemed  it 
prudent  to  try,  in  the  first  instance,  the  effect  of  an  interview 
with  the  chief,  and  at  his  request  Roldan  repaired  to  Fort  Con 
ception,  where  the  Adelantado  parleyed  with  him  from  a  win 
dow.  His  expostulations  were  treated  with  defiance,  his  demand 
for  the  surrender  of  the  rebels  was  received  with  impudent  asser 
tions  of  his  own  loyalty  and  the  outlawry  of  the  Adelantado  and 
his  brother.  He  refused  to  resign  his  office  or  to  submit  to  a 
trial  except  on  command  of  the  king,  and  stoutly  repelled  all 
orders  which  might  bring  him  in  the  power  of  the  Adelantado, 
alleging  that  the  latter  sought  his  life.  Feigning  submission  to 
authority,  he  offered  to  retire  to  such  part  of  the  island  as  Don 
Bartholomew  might  designate  ;  but  on  the  latter  naming  the 
town  of  Diego  Colon,  the  convert  and  interpreter  who  had  been 
baptized  in  Spain,  he  abruptly  refused,  and,  after  insolently 
retiring,  announced  to  his  followers  the  enticing  proposition  of 
selecting  for  their  retreat  the  attractive  and  beautiful  province 
of  Xaragua,  where  sloth,  ease,  lust,  and  abundance  awaited  their 
arrival.  Availing  himself  of  the  absence  of  the  Adelantado  from 
Isabella,  the  rebels  hastened  thither  and  violently  attempted  to 
launch  the  caravel  and  sail  to  Xaragua.  Don  Diego,  hearing  the 
uproar,  came  forth  with  some  of  the  loyal  hidalgos,  but  finding 
himself  powerless  in  the  midst  of  such  general  disaffection,  he 
was  compelled  to  retire  into  the  fortress.  Several  interviews 
led  to  no  result,  and  when  finally  Roldan's  offer  to  submit  to  his 
authority,  provided  he  would  renounce  the  Adelantado  and  set 
up  an  opposition,  was  refused  with  contempt,  he  marched  out  at 
the  head  of  his  lawless  band  to  reach  Xaragua  by  land.  But 
assuming  still  to  be  himself  in  legitimate  authority  and  the  most 


3/0  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

loyal  of  all,  he  gave  his  lawless  followers  all  they  could  seize 
from  the  public  stores  of  arms,  ammunition,  and  clothing,  even 
carrying  off  or  slaughtering  the  breeding  stock  of  the  colony. 
Taking  the  direction  of  the  Vega,  he  endeavored  by  stratagem 
and  fraud  to  get  the  Adelantado  in  his  power,  evidently  intend 
ing  to  kill  him  ;  but  that  sagacious  official  was  too  much  on  his 
guard,  and  was  fully  conscious  of  his  military  inability  to  cope 
with  so  numerous  a  body  of  rebels.  It  even  required  within  the 
garrison  a  great  relaxation  of  his  usual  discipline,  and  resort  to- 
liberal  promises  of  rewards,  to  preserve  them  in  loyalty,  to  keep 
them  at  their  posts  of  duty,  and  from  becoming  disaffected  by 
the  prevailing  atmosphere  of  disloyalty  and  rebellion. 

Roldan's  efforts  to  gain  the  adherence  of  the  garrison  or  to 
get  the  person  of  the  Adelantado  in  his  power  proving  unsuc 
cessful,  they  were  followed  by  the  most  criminal  acts  on  his  part 
and  that  of  his  following  to  destroy  the  government,  to  set  up 
his  own,  and  to  gain  the  natives  to  his  side.  He  denounced  the 
Adelantado  as  a  tyrant  and  oppressor,  a  foreigner  and  extor 
tioner,  and  set  himself  up  as  the  protector  of  the  Indians.  He 
took  the  Carib  chief,  Manicatex,  into  his  alliance,  bestowing  upon 
him  presents  and  the  title  of  brother,  while  he  exacted  and  re 
ceived  from  the  deluded  natives  the  payment  of  tribute  and  the 
most  generous  supply  of  provisions.  He  roamed  arrogantly 
and  lawlessly  through  the  country,  revelling  in  abundance,  and 
with  a  numerous  following  of  Spaniards  and  Indians,  while  the 
Adelantado  was  imprisoned  in  the  fortress  with  only  a  handful 
of  men,  and  on  short  rations.  Manicatex  and  his  people,  in 
addition  to  food  and  tribute,  collected  all  the  gold  they  could 
find  and  placed  it  at  the  feet  of  the  rebel  chief,  and  feeling  em 
boldened  by  the  dissensions  of  their  conquerors,  threw  off  all 
allegiance  to  the  government,  while  they  accepted  willingly  the 
more  oppressive  yoke  of  Roldan.  The  caciques  and  their  tribes 
far  and  near  joined  in  the  rebellion  and  discontinued  to  send  in 
their  tribute  to  the  lawful  government.  The  Adelantado  found  his 
food,  clothing,  and  ammunition  becoming  exhausted,  his  authority 
set  at  defiance,  his  own  men  wavering  in  loyalty  and  yielding  to 
despondency,  while  confusion,  anarchy,  and  crime  reigned  every 
where.  Bold  as  he  was,  and  quick  to  decide  and  to  execute  a 
gallant  exploit,  Don  Bartholomew  was  compelled  to  remain 
under  the  protection  of  his  walls  and  guns,  for  he  had  received 


ON  COLUMBUS.  371 

the  most  certain  information  that  his  life  would  be  taken  on  the 
first  opportunity.  It  was  at  such  a  desperate  juncture  that 
Coronel  providentially  arrived  at  the  port  of  San  Domingo  with 
two  ships,  bringing  supplies,  reinforcements,  royal  documents 
confirming  Don  Bartholomew  in  his  title  and  authority  as 
Adelantado,  and  tidings  of  the  admiral's  strength  and  favor  with 
the  sovereigns  in  Spain,  and  of  his  speedy  arrival  in  Hispaniola 
with  a  large  and  powerful  fleet  containing  all  things  necessary 
for  the  relief  of  the  colony  and  for  the  maintenance  of  order  and 
authority. 

Roldan  and  his  followers  were  dismayed,  but  not  reduced  to 
submission.  The  Adelantado  repaired  immediately  to  San  Do 
mingo,  and,  though  his  forces  were  greatly  augmented,  the 
needs  of  the  soldiers  relieved,  and  his  authority  sustained,  he 
prudently  resorted  to  leniency  and  persuasion,  rather  than  force, 
to  dispel  the  rebellion.  But  Roldan  had  gone  too  far  to  recede. 
He  treated  Coronel,  whom  the  Adelantado  had  sent  to  parley 
with  him,  as  a  traitor,  and  spurned  all  offers  of  pardon,  protesting 
his  readiness  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  admiral  on  his 
arrival,  and  thus  finally  drawing  upon  himself  and  his  men  the 
public  proclamation  of  the  Adelantado  that  they  were  traitors, 
and  to  be  treated  as  such.  Fearing  lest  his  men  might  be  influ 
enced  by  the  improved  condition  of  the  government  and  the  per 
suasions  of  the  loyal  Spaniards  about  San  Domingo,  Roldan  and 
his  lawless  partisans  now  commenced  their  bold  and  reckless 
march  to  their  favorite  and  chosen  rendezvous,  the  beautiful  and 
voluptuous  region  of  Xaragua,  where  they  expected  to  revel  in 
luxury  and  to  indulge  in  every  unholy  passion. 

One  of  the  fruits  of  Roldan's  rebellion  was  the  second  insur 
rection  of  the  deluded  and  unfortunate  Guarionex,  the  cacique 
of  the  Royal  Vega.  Seduced  by  Roldan's  persuasions  and  by 
his  promises  of  assistance,  and  emboldened  by  the  distracted  state 
of  the  country  and  the  divisions  among  the  Spaniards,  he  and  his 
tributary  cacique  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  rise  upon  their 
oppressors  and  make  a  last  effort  to  recover  their  freedom  and 
redeem  their  country  from  the  grasp  of  their  conquerors.  The 
Spanish  soldiers  quartered  in  small  numbers  in  the  villages  were 
to  be  slaughtered,  while  Guarionex  and  his  warriors  were  to 
attack  Fort  Conception.  The  full  moon  was  fixed  upon  as  the 
signal  for  the  uprising  ;  but  one  of  the  leading  caciques  mistook 


3/2  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

the  night,  attacked  prematurely  the  soldiers  quartered  in  his 
village  and  was  repulsed.  On  his  flying  to  Guarionex  for  pro 
tection,  that  chief,  in  his  rage  and  disappointment,  inflicted  upon 
him  the  punishment  of  instant  death.  These  events  disclosed 
the  conspiracy  to  the  Spaniards.  The  Adelantado,  with  his 
accustomed  vigor,  marched  out  with  a  strong  force  to  the  Vega 
to  suppress  every  vestige  of  the  uprising,  but  the  unfortunate 
Guarionex,  in  despair,  had  fled  with  his  family  and  a  few  faithful 
followers  to  the  distant  and  lofty  mountainous  region  of  Ciguay, 
and  threw  himself  upon  the  generous  protection  of  its  noble 
cacique,  the  brave  Mayobanex,  who  received  him  with  open 
heart  and  hand,  and  vowed  to  protect  and  defend  him  to  the  end, 
and  to  share  his  fate,  whatever  it  might  be.  Thus  we  see,  under 
the  first  advances  of  civilization  in  the  new  world,  that  beautiful 
and  enchanting  region,  which,  when  first  seen  by  the  Spaniards, 
ravished  all  their  senses  with  admiration  and  delight,  now  deso 
lated  and  despoiled,  its  once  happy  chieftain  a  suppliant  and  an 
impoverished  wanderer,  its  people  destroyed,  its  grandeur  and 
beauty  wasted,  its  gardens  and  orchards  desolated.  Well  has 
Las  Casas,  that  steadfast  friend  of  the  Indians,  taught  us  a  moral 
lesson  in  pointing  out  the  natural  virtues  of  the  untutored  savages 
in  the  generous  reception  of  the  unfortunate  Guarionex  by  the 
noble  Mayobanex — a  striking  contrast  to  the  crimes  and  vices 
then  prevailing  among  the  more  enlightened  and  instructed 
Christian  conquerors  of  the  island  !  * 

The  once  peaceful  Guarionex,  feeling  as  he  imagined  secure  in 
his  mountain  retreat  and  encouraged  by  his  native  allies,  essayed 
to  become  the  avenger  of  his  own  and  his  people's  wrongs. 
Watching  his  opportunities,  he  made  descents  upon  the  plains 
to  cut  off  straggling  or  exposed  parties  of  a  few  Spaniards,  and 
even  attacked  and  burned  the  Indian  villages  which  adhered  to 
the  Spaniards,  destroying  the  inhabitants  and  ruining  their  fields 
and  orchards.  Don  Bartholomew  Columbus  took  effectual 
measures  to  promptly  suppress  these  hostile  struggles  of  an 
already  conquered  race.  At  the  head  of  ninety  soldiers,  some 
cavalry,  and  a  band  of  friendly  Indians  he  advanced,  through 
narrow  and  dangerous  defiles,  and  having  reached  the  summit 


*  Peter  Martyr,  decad.  i.,  cap.  5  ;  Las  Casas,  "  Historia  Ind.,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  121,  MS.  ; 
Irving's  "Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  177  ;  Tarducci's  "Life  of  Columbus,"  translation 
by  Henry  F.  Brownson,  vol.  ii.,  p.  115. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  373 

of  the  Ciguay  Mountains,  he  descended  to  the  plains  beyond 
without  encountering  an  enemy  ;  but  the  latter  was  in  ambush, 
and  it  was  only  by  capturing  one  of  the  Indian  scouts  that  he 
avoided  a" terrific  slaughter.  Now  he  cautiously  proceeded,  and 
he  possessed  such  advantages  over  his  naked  and  undisciplined 
adversaries  that  an  Indian  army  of  six  thousand  could  do  no 
more  than  discharge  their  missiles  and  then  fly  and  disperse  in 
the  woods  and  ravines.  A  few  Spaniards  were  wounded  with 
arrows  or  lances,  and  a  few  of  the  Indians  were  killed.  Pursuit 
of  such  a  foe  in  their  own  country  was  of  little  avail.  Con 
tinuing  his  march  toward  Cabron,  the  residence  of  Mayobanex, 
the  Adelantado  demanded  of  that  chief  the  surrender  of  Guario- 
nex,  with  promises  of  rewards  or  threats  of  punishment.  But 
the  noble  chief  replied,  "  Tell  the  Spaniards  that  they  are  bad 
men,  cruel  and  tyrannical  ;  usurpers  of  the  territories  of  others, 
and  shedders  of  innocent  blood.  I  desire  not  the  friendship  of 
such  men.  Guarionex  is  a  good  man  ;  he  is  my  friend,  he  is  my 
guest,  he  has  fled  to  me  for  refuge.  I  have  promised  to  protect 
him  ;  I  will  keep  my  word." 

Answers  such  as  this,  pronounced  under  less  heroic  circum 
stances,  occurring  in  Greek  and  Roman  history  or  even  in  more 
modern  times,  have  become  immortalized  in  classic  prose  and 
verse.  This  instance  of  barbarian  heroism  will  compare  with 
the  defence  of  Thermopylae  or  any  great  event  in  Roman  hero 
ism.  Well  has  Mr.  Irving  called  it  "  magnanimous,"  and  the 
learned  Francesco  Tarducci  calls  it  "  the  most  magnanimous  and 
sublime  answer  in  all  history."  But  the  stern  nature  of  the 
Adelantado  regarded  it  as  an  insolent  bravado  and  menacing 
insult.  He  was  as  quick  in  executing  his  purpose  as  he  was 
prompt  in  forming  it.  He  immediately  destroyed  with  fire  all 
the  villages  in  the  neighborhood,  and  saw  the  inhabitants,  men, 
women,  and  children,  the  sick,  the  infirm,  and  the  aged  fleeing 
from  the  homes  which  they  had  acquired  by  a  good  title  from 
the  common  father  of  the  human  race.  This  was  followed  with 
a  threat  to  Mayobanex  that  unless  he  gave  up  Guarionex  he  and 
his  people  and  his  dominions  should  share  the  same  fate  by  fire 
and  sword.  But  the  heroic  cacique  stood  firm  before  the  threats 
of  the  Spaniards,  and  resisted  the  entreaties  of  his  panic-stricken 
people.  He  sent  for  the  hounded  Guarionex  and  renewed  his 
promise  of  protection  and  defence,  or  to  share  his  fate.  Another 


374  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

Spanish  embassy  was  sent,  and  its  two  members,  a  Spaniard  and 
an  Indian,  were  put  to  death  in  sight  of  the  Adelantado,  to  show 
him  that  Spaniards  and  Indian  traitors  were  mortal,  and  that  he 
appealed  to  his  natural  right  to  defend  his  own  against  such 
ruthless  invaders.  Yielding  to  his  anger  and  to  his  stern  nature, 
the  Adelantado  marched  at  once,  at  the  head  of  his  entire  force, 
on  these  brave  mountaineers  ;  but  the  large  army  of  Mayobanex, 
panic-stricken  at  the  sight  of  the  steel-clad  and  invincible  Span 
iards,  dispersed  and  fled,  and  the  noble  chieftain  was  left 
with  only  a  handful  of  men — a  mere  body-guard — for  himseH 
and  his  family.  His  cause  was  now  desperate.  With  his  family 
he  was  compelled  to  fly  from  his  home  and  country  to  the  most 
barren  and  rocky  caverns  in  the  mountains.  The  other  doomed 
cacique,  the  unhappy  Guarionex,  warned  of  the  intention  of 
the  desperate  Ciguayans  to  murder  him  as  the  cause  of  their 
ruin,  and  hoping  thereby  to  win  mercy  for  themselves  from  the 
Spaniards,  fled  to  the  most  distant  and  desolate  retreat  in  that 
mountainous  wilderness.  Pursuing  these  two  unfortunate 
caciques,  the  Adelantado  and  his  men  overcame  by  dint  of  cour 
age,  endurance,  and  strength  the  appalling  difficulties  of  such  a 
rocky,  tangled,  and  precipitous  pursuit,  seeking  in  every  rock, 
cavern,  or  thicket  for  their  victims.  Many  of  the  Spanish  soldiers 
sought  pretexts  for  returning  to  their  homes  or  gardens  near 
Fort  Conception,  but  the  indomitable  will  of  the  Adelantado, 
with  thirty  remaining  men  and  some  Indian  followers,  kept  up 
the  hunt  with  unfaltering  tenacity.  Neither  fatigue  nor  want  of 
food  dampened  the  ardor  of  the  pursuers  ;  but  the  whole  country 
was  abandoned  by  its  once  happy  inhabitants.  There  were  yet 
some  desperate  and  fugitive  natives,  but  few  and  solitary  ones, 
who  were  forced  out  of  their  hiding-places  in  the  rocks,  here 
and  there,  to  seek  for  a  root  or  some  berries  to  save  themselves 
from  starvation.  If  the  Spaniards  saw  one  of  these  wretched 
natives,  he  knew  nothing  of  the  hiding-places  of  the  caciques  ; 
but  two  of  the  miserable  subjects  of  Mayobanex  were  one  day 
captured  by  the  Spaniards  while  the  former  were  looking  for  a 
little  cassava  bread  for  their  chief  and  the  latter  were  hunting 
utias.  Carried  before  the  Adelantado,  these  frightened  and 
despairing  children  of  nature  were  forced,  as  is  supposed,  in  the 
absence  of  historic  narrative,  by  untold  cruelties,  to  disclose  the 
hiding-place  of  their  chief,  and  even  to  lead  his  pursuers  to  the 


ON  COLUMBUS.  375 

spot.  Twelve  Spaniards  disguised  as  Indians  made  their  way 
to  the  hiding-place  of  the  noble  Indian  chief,  compelling  and 
forcing  the  reluctant  guides  to  lead  the  way.  They  found  their 
victim  in  his  secluded  retreat,  sitting  on  the  ground,  surrounded 
by  his  wife  and  children  and  a  few  noble  and  ever-faithful  sub 
jects,  and  playing  with  his  little  children,  when  suddenly  rushing 
upon  him,  and  drawing  their  swords  from  their  palm-leaf  dis 
guises,  they  seized  the  chieftain,  bound  him  and  carried  him  off, 
together  with  his  family  and  followers,  before  they  could  recover 
from  their  sudden  surprise  and  stupor.  Among  the  prisoners 
was  a  sister  of  Mayobanex,  wife  of  a  neighboring  cacique,  who, 
on  learning  of  her  brother's  misfortunes,  left  her  home  and  her 
realm,  "  which,"  as  Tarducci  says,  "  had  not  yet  felt  the  weight 
of  the  white  man's  civilization,"  and  spent  several  days  with  him 
to  console  her  brother  in  his  misfortunes,  and  to  share  his  dan 
gers,  his  poverty,  his  hunger,  and  his  downfall.  When  her  dis 
consolate  husband  heard  of  her  capture  and  imprisonment,  he 
went  as  a  suppliant  to  Fort  Conception  and  sued  for  the  liberty 
•of  his  wife,  with  tears  and  on  his  knees,  offering  in  return  for 
this  mercy  to  subject  himself,  his  dominions,  and  his  people  to 
the  Spanish  authority.  In  all  the  history  of  our  race  no  more 
heroic,  no  gentler  or  more  beautiful  example  of  pure  and  de 
voted  love  than  his  can  be  found.  Don  Bartholomew,  who  knew 
well  how  to  be  merciful  and  politic  as  well  as  stern  and  severe, 
and  esteeming  the  possession  of  the  cacique's  wife  as  of  little 
value  compared  to  the  peaceful  subjugation  of  an  entire  district, 
released  the  captured  queen  and  a  number  of  Indians  to  the 
unfortunate  and  tender-hearted  cacique.  This  act  of  generosity 
gained  the  gratitude  and  willing  service  of  the  now  happy  chief 
and  his  people,  who  became  the  allies  of  the  Spaniards,  and  their 
very  slaves  in  cultivating  fields  for  them,  and  supplying  them  with 
food  from  the  fruits  of  their  hard  and  unaccustomed  labor.  The 
subjects  of  the  captive  chief,  Mayobanex,  made  hopeful  by  this 
clemency  of  the  Adelantado,  ventured  down  from  their  mountain 
recesses,  bringing  presents  to  the  Spaniards,  and  with  loyalty 
and  affection  worthy  of  the  imitation  of  the  conquerors,  sued  for 
the  release  of  their  beloved  and  brave  chief  and  his  family.  Don 
Bartholomew,  with  his  accustomed  judgment  and  discernment, 
gave  their  liberty  to  all  but  the  unhappy  chief,  whom  he  retained 
as  a  hostage. 


3/6  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

The  miserable  Guarionex  continued  to  be  hunted  until  he  was 
caught.  The  Ciguayans,  the  disconsolate  subjects  of  the  im 
prisoned  Mayobanex,  not  able  in  their  misfortunes  to  sustain  the 
princely  and  exalted  sentiments  and  conduct  of  their  chief,  and 
accusing  Guarionex  of  being  the  proximate  cause  of  their  mis 
fortunes,  resolved  to  watch  for  him  and  betray  him  on  the  oppor 
tunity  to  the  Spaniards.  He  wandered  from  one  rock-bound 
cavern  to  another,  attempting  but  once  in  several  days  to  ven 
ture  forth  in  quest  of  food.  He  was  finally  seen  by  some  vigilant 
Ciguayans,  his  hiding-place  communicated  at  Fort  Conception, 
and  a  few  days  afterward,  as  he  was  timidly  and  cautiously  going 
out  for  something  to  eat,  he  was  captured  by  Spaniards  con 
cealed  in  rocks  or  brush,  who  suddenly  sprang  from  their  lair  ; 
and  though  almost  exhausted  unto  death,  he  was  hurried  in 
chains  before  the  Adelantado.  This  robust  ruler  spared  a  life 
now  almost  wasted,  and  retained  him  and  his  friend,  Mayobanex, 
as  prisoners  or  hostages  for  the  good  conduct  of  their  people. 
By  his  vigorous  action  and  unsparing  energy,  by  a  policy 
of  mingled  cruelty  to  his  foes  and  of  mercy  to  his  victims, 
he  had  won  complete  dominion  over  the  Royal  Vega  and  the 
mountainous  district  of  Ciguay,  in  which  districts  now  reigned 
by  his  address  the  peace  and  quiet  of  a  ruthless  conquest.  While 
the  Count  de  Lorgues,  the  enthusiastic  admirer  of  Columbus, 
passes  over  these  lamentable  details  without  even  mentioning 
them,  Mr.  Irving  remarks,  in  admiration  for  a  character  in 
which  the  nobler  qualities  predominated  over  the  faults  gener 
ated  by  his  trying  position,  "  Don  Bartholomew,  however, 
though  stern  in  his  policy,  was  neither  vindictive  nor  cruel  in 
his  nature.  .  .  .  He  has  been  accused  of  severity  in  his  gov 
ernment,  but  no  instance  appears  of  a  cruel  or  wanton  abuse  of 
authority."  The  learned  and  judicious  Tarducci  says,  "  With 
the  opinion  then  universally  held,  that  white  men  and  Christians 
had  full  right  to  dispose  at  will  of  men  of  another  color  or  re 
ligion,  it  is  easy  to  imagine  the  effect  produced  on  the  haughty 
character  of  the  Spaniard  by  the  haughty  answer  of  Mayobanex, 
.  .  .  in  which  Don  Bartholomew,  with  his  mind  filled  with 
his  right  and  duty  to  re-establish  order  in  the  colony  and  settle 
the  authority  of  Spain  over  the  savages,  saw  only  an  atrocious 
insult.  Horrid  times,  when,  in  the  name  of  religion  and  of  civili 
zation,  a  portion  of  the  human  race  believed  itself  right  in  regar 


ON   COLUMBUS.  377 

ing  and  treating  the  rest  as  worse  than  beasts."  And  again  the 
same  author,  "So  ended  the  magnanimous  struggle  of  those 
mountaineers,  which,  if  related  by  some  Indian  Plutarch,  would 
claim  from  posterity  as  great  admiration  and  glory  as  the  most 
famous  war  ever  carried  on  by  any  people."*  It  might  be 
added  that  the  administration  of  Don  Bartholomew  Columbus 
was  a  model  of  mildness  compared  with  the  subsequent  ones  of 
Bobadilla  and  Ovando,  which,  with  sorrow,  we  will  have  to 
relate  hereafter. 

It  was  not  long  after  these  stirring  and  triumphant  events  in 
the  administration  of  Don  Bartholomew  Columbus  that  his 
brother,  the  admiral,  returned  to  Hispaniola.  With  shattered 
health,  the  admiral,  so  far  from  securing  rest  and  peace  on  his 
return  to  the  colony  he  had  planted  with  so  much  generous 
hope,  and  sustained  with  such  paternal  solicitude  and  sacrifice, 
found  the  most  disastrous  and  distressing  period  of  his  eventful 
and  checkered  life  now  before  him.  Between  the  wars  and 
rebellions  of  the  natives  and  the  outbreak  of  his  own  followers, 
under  Roldan,  Columbus  saw  a  scene  of  desolation  and  turbu 
lence,  of  misery  and  anguish,  where  only  four  years  ago  he  had 
beheld  an  earthly  paradise,  a  field  for  civilization,  a  vineyard  for 
the  gospel  of  the  Lord.  Now  all  was  changed.  The  poor 
natives  were  destroyed  by  war  as  by  an  unsparing  pest,  their 
chiefs  were  either  slaughtered  or  imprisoned  ;  the  few  that  sur 
vived  of  a  lately  happy,  contented,  and  hospitable  race  were 
timid  stragglers  and  broken-hearted  slaves  in  a  land  desolated, 
impoverished,  ruined,  and  conquered  ;  frowning  fortresses  lorded 
the  once  beautiful  landscape  ;  the  mountains  only  seemed  inhab 
ited,  and  these  by  a  skulking  and  despairing  race  ;  silence  and 
desolation  ruled  in  once  happy  and  peaceful  Indian  villages  ;  the 
unstinted  hospitality  of  an  innocent  and  generous  people  had 
become  displaced  by  cruel  oppression  followed  by  hatred  and 
the  refusal  to  feed  their  conquerors  ;  scarcely  a  cacique,  scarcely 
a  man  of  family,  had  escaped  the  most  heinous  outrages  on 
man's  dearest  rights  and  tenderest  sensibilities ;  once  culti 
vated  fields  and  orchards  were  now  overgrown  with  a  rank  and 

*  Peter  Martyr,  decad.  i.,  lib.  v.,  vi.  ;  Fernando  Colombo,  cap.  Ixxv.  ;  Las  Casas, 
"Hist.  Ind.,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  121  ;  Herrera,  "  Hist.  Ind.,"  decad.  i.,  lib.  iii.,  cap.  8,  9; 
Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  178-85  ;  Tarducci's  "Life  of  Columbus,"  Brown- 
son's  translation,  pp.  114-21. 


3/8  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

poisonous  growth,  and  where  nature  gave  spontaneous  crops, 
food  was  insufficient  for  the  cravings  of  hunger  ;  the  songs  of  a 
people's  joys  and  traditions  were  now  the  wails  of  misery  and 
death  ;  crime  had  stalked  with  barefaced  effrontery  through  a 
land  and  a  people  once  innocent  and  childlike  ;  civilization  had 
brought  ruin,  and  Christianity,  contrary  to  its  precepts,  had 
been  heralded  by  vice,  oppression,  plunder,  and  lust.  Unworthy 
heralds  of  the  Cross  had  repelled  a  gentle  race  from  its  all- 
redeeming  embraces.  Even  among  the  heralds  of  civilization, 
revolt,  disloyalty,  and  violence  had  prevailed,  and  but  for  the 
stern  and  true  loyalty  and  undaunted  courage  and  sagacious 
administration  of  one  man,  a  new  world  given  by  Columbus  to 
mankind  would  have  been  lost  to  civilization,  to  science,  to  com 
merce,  and  to  religion.  Had  Columbus  been  supported  by  men 
such  as  he  would  have  selected,  men  of  order  and  of  conscience, 
his  administration  and  that  of  his  brother  under  him  would  have 
proved  a  redeeming  blessing  to  the  natives,  instead  of  their 
destruction. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  Columbus  on  arriving  at  Hispaniola 
was  to  issue  a  proclamation  approving  the  administration  of  the 
Adelantado  and  his  acts,  and  proclaiming  unqualified  condemna 
tion  of  Roldan  and  his  followers.  That  reckless  and  unprincipled 
rebel  had  led  his  band  of  outlaws  to  the  beautiful  country  of 
Xaragua,  where  they  were  received  with  unmerited  and  unre 
quited  kindness  by  the  natives.  Yielding  to  every  vice  and  pas 
sion  of  bad  and  desperate  men,  they  exacted  from  the  generous 
natives  the  gratification  of  every  want,  of  every  passion,  and  of 
their  unbridled  lusts  ;  their  avarice  and  their  caprices  were 
equally  exacting  ;  no  discipline  was  imposed  or  observed,  and 
that  expansive  and  beautiful  region  imposed  no  bounds  to  their 
reckless  and  disorderly  rovings. 

But  suddenly  one  day  an  event  occurred,  at  first  alarming,  but 
which  at  length,  owing  to  their  falsehoods  and  seductions,  re 
plenished  their  squandered  stores  and  increased  their  numbers. 
Three  ships  were  sighted  making  for  the  island,  and  soon  they 
approached  and  anchored  near  the  land,  striking  the  rebels  with 
consternation.  The  bold  and  sagacious  Roldan  from  the  first 
saw  in  them  Spanish  vessels,  no  doubt  sent  out  with  supplies  for 
the  colony,  and  saw  in  them  his  opportunity.  He  and  his  men 
preserved  profound  secrecy  as  to  their  real  character,  and  they 


ON  COLUMBUS.  379 

succeeded  in  making  the  three  captains  recognize  him  as  a  part 
of  the  Spanish  colony  and  of  the  administrative  machinery  of 
Hispaniola.  These  were  the  vessels  which  the  admiral  had  sent 
out  from  the  Canaries  for  the  relief  of  his  colony,  and  which  had 
been  carried  out  of  their  reckonings  by  the  winds  and  currents. 
Believing  Roldan's  representations  that  he  was  stationed  there 
by  the  Adelantado  to  maintain  the  province  in  peace  and  subjec 
tion  to  the  Spanish  authority,  the  three  captains  supplied  him 
and  his  followers  with  provisions,  arms,  and  ammunition.  S6me 
of  the  most  capable  of  these  rebels  visited  the  ships  without  sus 
picion  and  poisoned  the  minds  of  many  of  the  men  on  board, 
who,  as  already  related,  had  been  received  from  the  worst  popu 
lations  of  Spain  for  the  third  voyage.  It  was  only  after  three 
days  of  such  insidious  intercourse  that  the  most  sagacious  of  the 
captains,  Alonzo  Sanchez  de  Carvajal,  discovered  the  true  char 
acter  of  this  lawless  band,  but  it  was  too  late  to  correct  the  bad 
effects  of  their  misleading  visits  ;  so  that  when  Juan  Antonio 
Colombo  landed  at  the  head  of  forty  well-armed  men  to  make 
the  march  across  the  country  to  the  settlement,  he  found  himself 
suddenly  deserted  by  all  his  men  except  eight  ;  the  thirty-two 
joined  the  rebels  to  their  great  exultation,  and  no  appeals  of  the 
captain  could  draw  them  away.  The  three  captains  made  re 
peated  efforts  to  induce  Roldan  to  desist  from  his  lawless  career 
and  return  to  his  duty  and  his  obedience  to  his  superiors,  but  all 
in  vain  ;  the  most  they  could  accomplish  was  the  promise  of 
Roldan  to  submit  as  soon  as  he  should  hear  of  the  arrival  of  the 
admiral,  his  resistance,  as  he  asserted,  being  only  to  the  unlaw 
ful  usurpations  of  the  Adelantado.  The  plans  of  the  captains 
were  now  changed.  The  ships  sailed  for  San  Domingo,  but 
Carvajal  remained  on  shore  with  the  intention  of  making  further 
efforts  to  secure  the  return  of  Roldan  and  his  men  to  their  duty 
and  allegiance.  Failing  in  this,  he  returned  to  San  Domingo 
under  an  escort  of  the  rebels  to  protect  him  from  the  Indians, 
and  bearing  a  letter  from  Roldan  to  Columbus,  offering  to  recog 
nize  his  authority  and  to  negotiate  for  the  settlement  of  all  diffi 
culties.  The  ships,  after  many  disasters,  arrived  at  San  Domingo, 
but  their  provisions  for  the  colony  were  either  exhausted  or 
mostly  damaged. 

In  the  mean  time  Columbus  had  arrived  at  San  Domingo  and 
learned  all  the  distressing  details  of  the  past  from  his  ever-faithful 


380  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

brother,  the  able  and  undaunted  Adelantado.  Carvajal's  ac 
counts  did  not  quite  remove  his  fear  and  distrust  of  the  rebels, 
for  so  flagrant  and  treacherous  had  been  the  conduct  and  the 
falsehood  of  Roldan,  that  no  confidence  could  be  placed  upon 
any  promises  or  professions  he  might  make,  though  accompanied 
by  the  most  solemn  vows  and  oaths.  He  did  not  see  how  his 
government  as  Viceroy  of  Hispaniola  could  be  maintained  while 
an  organized  band  of  armed  and  equipped  rebels  were  in  posses 
sion  of  an  important  section  of  the  island,  which  they  had  seized, 
and  where  they  were  living  riotously  and  defying  his  authority, 
or  while  the  island  was  infested  in  every  part  with  disaffected 
and  disloyal  Spaniards  boasting  their  enmity  to  him  and  de 
nouncing  his  conduct  of  affairs,  and  especially  the  administration 
of  his  brothers  ;  while  the  Indians  were  in  a  state  of  sullen 
silence,  gloomy  and  resentful  submission,  and  ready  at  the  insti 
gation  of  the  rebels  to  join  them  in  a  common  movement  against 
him,  his  brothers,  and  his  loyal  followers,  representatives  of  the 
Spanish  sovereigns.  In  order  to  rid  the  island  of  as  many  of  the 
disaffected  as  possible,  he  proclaimed,  on  September  I2th,  his 
consent  that  all  who  wished  might  return  to  Spain  in  the  five 
vessels  preparing  for  sea,  giving  them  a  free  passage  and  pro 
visions  for  the  voyage.  So  loud  had  been  the  clamor  against  the 
Adelantado,  and  so  persistent  the  charges  of  cruelty  and  oppres 
sion,  which  had  rung  from  one  end  of  the  island  to  the  other, 
that  the  admiral  found  a  deep  impression  had  been  made  by 
them,  even  upon  the  minds  and  judgments  of  the  loyal.  These 
charges  were  never  sustained,  and  historians  have  acquitted  the 
Adelantado  of  them  all.  If  his  course  toward  the  natives  is  re 
garded  as  inexorable  and  cruel,  against  natural  right  and  human 
justice,  as  certainly  it  was,  these  elements  in  his  administra 
tion  are  attributable  rather  to  the  ruthless  system  of  European 
advancement  and  conquest,  which  he  had  represented  in  the 
absence  of  his  brother,  and  which,  while  they  overwhelm 
humanity  with  shame,  are  but  the  execution  of  the  sentence 
which  in  past  ages,  and  in  that  age  particularly,  civilization  had 
pronounced  against  barbarism.  The  pretext  that  the  discontent 
prevailing  so  generally  was  only  aimed  against  his  brother  was  an 
empty  assertion,  since  it  was  manifest  that  the  admiral  then  and 
thereafter  fared  no  better  at  their  hands. 

As  soon  as  Columbus  heard  of  Roldan's  purpose  of  advancing 


ON   COLUMBUS.  381 

toward  San  Domingo  to  treat  with  him  on  the  discontents  of  the 
rebels,  the  former  immediately  sent  word  to  Miguel  Ballester, 
the  veteran  and  undaunted  commander  of  Fort  Conception,  to 
await  the  approach  of  the  rebels  with  every  preparation  of  vigi 
lance  and  defence,  and  to  trust  him  not  in  any  professions  of 
loyalty,  but  to  entertain  a  parley  with  him  and  to  offer  him,  in 
the  admiral's  name,  pardon  for  the  past  if  he  would  return  to  his 
duty  and  allegiance,  and  to  suggest  or  invite  his  repairing  to 
San  Domingo  to  confer  with  the  admiral,  to  the  end  of  a  per 
manent  settlement  of  all  difficulties,  under  the  most  solemn  assur 
ances  of  personal  safety — a  guarantee  which  would  be  put  in 
writing  if  desired.  Scarcely  had  the  commander  of  Fort  Con 
ception  received  the  admiral's  letter,  when  the  rebels  began  to 
make  their  appearance  in  the  Vega,  where  the  village  of  Bonao 
became  their  rendezvous,  and  where  the  residence  of  Pedro 
Requelme,  one  of  their  ringleaders,  became  their  headquarters. 
This  village  was  about  ten  leagues  from  Fort  Conception  and 
twenty  from  San  Domingo.  Miguel  Ballester  a'dvanced  to  meet 
Roldan  as  a  messenger  of  peace,  and  he  had  been  well  selected 
for  the  purpose,  on  account  of  his  age  and  dignified  appearance 
and  demeanor,  his  mildness  of  character,  unblemished  record, 
and  indomitable  courage — qualities  which  the  rebels  themselves 
should  have  respected.  The  parley  took  place  between  this 
noble  soldier  and  the  rebel  Roldan,  with  three  of  his  chief  co-con 
spirators,  Pedro  Requelme,  Pedro  de  Gamez,  and  Adrian  de 
Moxico.  Roldan's  forces  from  every  quarter  rallied  at  Bonao, 
and,  feeling  emboldened  by  his  strength,  he  haughtily  refused 
the  proSered  pardon,  and  declined  an  interview  with  Columbus. 
Assuming  the  air  and  tone  of  power  and  authority,  he  began  to 
make  new  demands,  and  insisted  on  the  release  of  some  Indians, 
subjects  of  Guarionex,  who  were  about  to  be  sent  to  Spain  as 
slaves,  as  a  punishment  for  refusing  to  pay  the  tribute — a  refusal 
which  Roldan  himself  had  instigated.  He  knew  that  in  thus 
pretending  to  be  a  protector  of  the  Indians,  and  by  giving  to  his 
demand  a  pretended  official  character  by  virtue  of  his  office  of 
Alcalde  Mayor,  he  wounded  the  administration  of  the  admiral  in 
one  of  its  most  unpopular  methods  ;  he  even  threw  out  hints 
that  he  held  the  balance  of  power  in  his  hands,  and  that  the 
admiral  himself  might  be  brought  under  his  control  for  weal  or 
woe  ;  that  he  desired  no  terms  of  peace  ;  that  Carvajal  was  the 


382  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

only  one  he  would  treat  with,  as  he  was  the  only  fair  man  ;  and 
any  terms  he  would  accept  must  be  most  favorable  to  himself 
and  his  men. 

The  admiral  knew  well  how  to  estimate  his  own  and  his 
enemy's  strength,  and  he  felt  appalled  at  the  general  disaffection 
prevailing  around  him.  A  call  on  the  inhabitants  of  San  Do 
mingo  brought  to  his  aid  only  seventy  men,  and  of  these  scarcely 
forty  could  be  accepted  for  military  service,  such  was  the  pre 
dominant  disloyalty  poisoning  the  hearts  of  the  community.  So 
flimsy  were  the  excuses  given  by  the  citizens  for  escaping  mili 
tary  service  against  the  rebels,  that  disloyalty  was  apparent 
through  them  all.  Uniting  great  prudence  of  action  with  an 
exuberant  enthusiasm,  great  courage  guided  by  caution,  the 
admiral  hesitated  to  risk  his  authority,  his  person,  his  colon}-, 
his  prestige  of  success,  his  reputation  at  home,  his  very  enter 
prise  itself,  upon  the  uncertain  result  of  an  open  battle  with  such 
numerous  and  unprincipled  enemies.  The  ships  already  pre 
pared  for  sailing  to'  Spain  had  been  delayed  for  eighteen  days, 
in  the  hope  of  sending  more  favorable  accounts  to  Spain  as  to 
the  condition  of  affairs,  but  now  the  poor  and  miserable  prisoners 
on  board  the  ships,  especially  the  Indians,  had  become  desperate 
even  to  sickness,  death,  and  suicide  from  their  long  confinement  ; 
and  the  Spanish  malcontents,  whom  his  proclamation  had  induced 
to  embark  for  Spain,  were  becoming  more  than  ever  restless. 
Delay  now  was  worse  than  disaster,  so  that  he  sent  the  ships  to 
sea  on  October  i8th.  He  wrote  by  this  opportunity  a  detailed 
account  to  the  sovereigns  of  the  rebellion  of  Roldan,  the  con 
dition  of  the  colony,  and  the  administration  of  Hispaniola.  In 
this  important  letter  Columbus  clearly  traced  the  discontents  and 
present  misfortunes  of  the  colony  to  the  delays  and  machinations 
of  Fonseca  and  his  abettors  in  the  Indian  Bureau  at  Seville,  in 
sending  out  provisions  and  in  causing  his  own  long  delays  in 
Spain.  He  urged  the  regular  and  speedy  transmission  of  sup 
plies  from  Spain,  and  asked  that  good  and  zealous  missionaries 
be  sent  to  evangelize  the  natives  and  check  the  unbridled  pas 
sions  of  the  Spaniards  ;  and  that  royal  administrative  and  judicial 
officers  be  also  sent  to  assist  him  in  the  government  and  regula 
tion  of  the  island  and  in  administering  justice,  and  recommended 
that  they  should  be  Spaniards,  as  the  malcontents  assailed  him 
as  a  foreigner.  Apprehending  that  his  enemies  in  Spain  had 


ON   COLUMBUS.  v  383 

availed  themselves  of  the  chastisement  he  gave  to  the  miserable 
Ximeno  Breviesca,  "  Fonseca's  impudent  favorite,"  he  appealed 
to  the  justice  of  the  sovereigns  against  the  slanders  of  his  ene 
mies,  reminding  them  that,  he  was  "  absent,  envied,  and  a 
stranger."  He  also  dwelt  fully  on  the  resources  of  Hispaniola, 
and  reaffirmed  and  demonstrated  the  truth  of  his  former  accounts. 
Another  letter  of  the  admiral  gave  an  account  of  his  voyage 
through  the  Gulf  of  Paria,  of  the  continent  he  saw,  which  he 
regarded  as  the  finest  portion  of  Asia  and  the  seat  of  the  terres 
trial  Paradise,  and  he  sent  the  first  pearls  ever  received  in  Spain 
from  the  new  world,  promising  to  renew  the  exploration  and  dis 
covery  of  this  vast  and  fertile  country  as  soon  as  the  tranquillity 
of  the  island  would  give  him  an  opportunity.  The  following 
passage  from  the  Count  de  Lorgues  shows  how  eminently  capa 
ble  the  admiral  was  to  govern  a  colony  by  wise  and  practical 
measures,  and  how  the  wisest  administration  would  be  defeated 
by  the  rebels  and  criminals  infesting  the  island  ;  for  having 
pointed  out  to  the  sovereigns  the  existing  evils,  and  traced  many 
of  them  to  the  Bureau  of  the  Indies  at  Seville,  he  goes  on  in  his 
letter  to  outline  the  policy  to  be  followed  in  Hispaniola  :  "  It 
would  be  necessary  to  prolong  a  year  or  two  longer  the  power 
given  the  colonists  to  employ  in  their  service  the  natives  who 
had  been  made  prisoners  of  war.  With  the  exception  of  clothing, 
equipments,  and  wine,  which  it  would  be  necessary  to  import 
from  Spain,  everything  else  necessary  for  life  could  be  procured 
from  the  soil.  He  was  preparing  to  raise  large  crops  of  cassava, 
a  kind  of  food  to  which  the  Castilians  had  already  become  accus 
tomed  ;  sweet  potatoes  and  ajis  were  abundant  in  every  locality. 
The  rivers  were  numerous,  and  abounded  with  fish  ;  poultry  and 
hogs  multiplied  soon  and  abundantly.  Utias  were  so  numerous 
there  that  a  dog,  led  by  a  domestic,  could  catch  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  of  them  in  a  day.  The  means  of  subsistence  were  abun 
dant,  and  there  was  nothing  wanting  but  Christians  who  would 
be  such  in  practice  as  well  as  in  name."  *  In  this  letter  he  sent 
out  a  map  and  chart  of  the  Gulf  of  Paria  and  the  adjacent  Terra 


*  Barry's  translation  of  De  Lorgues'  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  p.  392  ;  Las  Casas, 
"  Hist.  Ind.,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  153,  157;  Oviedo,  "  Hist.  Ind.,"lib.  Hi.,  cap.  vi.  ;  Herrera, 
"  Hist.  Ind.,"  dec.  i.,  lib.  iii.  ;  Irving's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii..  p.  194-99  ; 
Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  130. 


384  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

Firma,  with  directions  how  to  reach  it,  and  specimens  of  the 
pearls  and  gold  of  the  new  world. 

The  vessels  carried  out  also  letters  from  Roldan  and  other 
rebels,  in  which  the  reverse  side  of  the  picture  was  given,  and 
every  means  were  taken  to  represent  the  rebellion  as  caused  by 
the  misconduct,  injustice,  extortion,  and  tyranny  of  Columbus 
and  his  brothers.  But  these  enemies  of  the  admiral  relied  more 
on  the  hostility  of  Fonseca  to  Columbus,  on  his  numerous  other 
enemies  in  Spain,  on  their  own  friends  and  relatives,  and  on  the 
growing  unpopularity  of  the  Genoese  foreigner.  The  glory  he 
had  conferred  upon  Spain  was  not  sufficient  to  naturalize  him  as 
a  Spaniard  ! 

Moderate  and  conciliatory  in  his  character  and  measures, 
Columbus  now  made  another  and  a  most  earnest  effort  to  termi 
nate  the  rebellion  of  Roldan  and  his  confederates.  The  impor 
tance  of  resuming  his  discoveries  and  explorations  of  the  main 
land  extending  westward  from  the  Gulf  of  Paria,  and  the  indis 
pensable  necessity  of  quieting  Hispaniola,  now  pressed  with 
almost  equal  urgency  upon  his  mind.  He  had  to  forego  his 
intention  of  sending  his  brother,  Don  Bartholomew,  to  continue 
the  former,  because  his  military  services  were  now  so  neces 
sary  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  latter.  Deeming  it  impru 
dent  and  unsafe  to  risk  all  by  an  open  battle  with  the  aug 
mented  forces  of  the  rebels,  he  was  compelled  to  resort  to  the 
humiliating  expedient  of  renewing  negotiations.  Hoping  that 
Roldan  might  yet  preserve  some  remnant  of  his  former  grati 
tude,  or  might  be  moved  even  by  the  remembrance  of  his  old 
friendship,  he  addressed  to  him  a  friendly  letter,  dated  October 
2oth,  1498,  and  so  characteristic  of  the  admiral's  sentiments,  and 
written  in  as  clear  and  simple  a  style  as  his  heart  was  honest, 
that  I  will  here  introduce  it  at  length  : 

'  DEAR  FRIEND  :  My  first  care  on  arriving  in  this  capital,  after 
having  embraced  my  brother,  was  to  inquire  about  you.  You 
cannot  doubt  that,  next  to  my  family,  you  have  for  a  long  time 
occupied  the  first  place  in  my  affections  ;  and  I  have  'always 
counted  so  much  on  yours,  that  there  is  nothing  in  which  I 
would  not  have  entirely  depended  on  you.  Judge,  therefore,  of 
my  grief,  when  I  learned  that  you  were  embroiled  in  a  feud  with 
persons  who  are  the  nearest  to  me  in  the  world,  and  who  ought 
to  be  the  dearest.  Still,  I  have  been  consoled  by  being  informed 


ON   COLUMBUS.  385 

that  you  ardently  desired  my  return.  I  flattered  myself  then 
that  your  first  sentiments  in  regard  to  me  were  not  changed,  and 
I  expected  that,  as  soon  as  you  would  hear  of  my  arrival,  you 
would  not  delay  coming  to  see  me.  Not  seeing  you  appear,  and 
thinking  that  you  apprehended  some  resentment  on  my  part, 
I  sent  Ballester  to  you,  to  give  you  all  the  assurances  that  you 
could  desire.  The  little  success  that  attended  that  step  has  filled 
me  with  regret ;  and  whence  could  that  distrust  come  which  you 
seem  to  have  in  me  ?  At  last  you  demanded  to  have  Carvajal 
sent  to  you.  I  send  him.  Open  your  heart  to  him,  and  tell  him 
what  I  can  do  for  you  to  regain  your  confidence  ;  but,  in  the 
name  of  God,  remember  what  you  owe  to  your  country,  to  the 
kings  (our  sovereign  lords),  to  God,  and  to  yourself  ;  take  care 
of  your  reputation,  and  judge  of  things  more  soundly  than  you 
have  done  in  the  past.  Consider  with  attention  the  abyss  you 
are  digging  under  your  feet,  and  no  longer  persist  in  a  desperate 
resolution.  I  have  represented  you  to  their  Highnesses  as  a 
man  of  the  colony  whom  they  may  most  rely  upon  ;  it  concerns 
my  honor  and  yours  that  a  testimony  so  advantageous  should 
not  be  belied  by  your  conduct.  Hasten  then  to  show  yourself 
again  the  man  I  formerly  knew  you  to  be.  I  have  detained  the 
ships  that  were  all  ready  to  sail,  with  the  hope  that,  by  a  prompt 
and  perfect  submission,  you  will  place  me  at  liberty  to  confirm 
all  the  good  things  I  have  said  of  you.  I  pray  God  to  have  you 
in  His  holy  keeping." 

In  the  distrust  created  by'the  general  prevalence  of  disloyalty, 
the  selection  of  one  to  bear  this  letter  to  the  rebels  became  a 
grave  question  ;  for  while  Columbus  would  select  Carvajal,  and 
he  was  most  acceptable  to  the  rebels,  strong  objections  were 
raised  against  him  by  many  of  the  admiral's  friends,  for  they 
remembered  how  he  had  received  Roldan  on  his  ship  at  Xaragua 
for  two  days  ;  had  furnished  them  with  arms,  ammunition  and 
stores  ;  neglected  to  arrest  him  on  board  his  ship  after  discover 
ing  he  was  a  rebel ;  had  been  escorted  by  the  rebels  from  Xaragua 
to  San  Domingo,  and  had  sent  them  refreshments  at  Bonao  ;  had 
represented  himself  as  a  colleague  of  Columbus  in  the  adminis 
tration,  and  appointed  to  inspect  his  conduct ;  that  he  had  invited 
the  rebels  to  San  Domingo  ;  the  very  desire  of  the  rebels  to  have 
him  sent  to  treat  with  them,  and  other  indications  derived  more 
from  suspicion  than  facts.  But  Columbus  remembered  that  his 


386  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

keen  eye  first  discovered  and  exposed  their  true  character  at 
Xaragua,  and  that  his  subsequent  consideration  for  them  was 
based  on  his  prudent  regard  for  the  weakness  of  the  government 
and  his  desire  to  secure  peace,  and  he  showed  his  superior  judg 
ment  in  sending  this  faithful  officer  on  the  mission.  Ballester 
accompanied  him. 

Scarcely  had  the  ambassadors  departed  for  Bonao,  when  the 
admiral  received  a  letter  signed  by  Roldan  and  his  co-conspirators, 
Adrian  de  Moxica,  Pedro  de  Gamez,  and  Diego  de  Escobar,  dated 
October  lyth.in  which  they  vindicated  their  conduct,  asserted  that 
they  had  resented  only  the  despotism  of  the  Adelantado,  and  had 
now  for  a  month  awaited  in  vain  some  sign  of  conciliation  from  him, 
whose  arrival  they  awaited  ;  and  they  demanded  now  to  be  dis 
charged  from  his  service.  The  friendly  letter  of  Columbus,  sup 
ported  by  the  cogent  reasonings  of  Carvajal  and  Ballester,  had  the 
effect  of  inducing  Roldan,  Gamez,  Escobar,  and  others  to  mount 
their  horses  to  ride  at  once  to  the  presence  of  the  admiral ;  but  the 
clamors  of  the  insolent  rabble  at  their  backs  compelled  them  to 
dismount.  They  demanded  that  written  passports  for  the  chief 
rebels  should  be  sent  and  the  terms  of  agreement  should  be  re 
duced  to  writing,  made  public  and  submitted  to  them.  Under 
the  advice  of  Carvajal  and  Ballester,  given  after  they  had  seen 
the  strength  of  the  rebels  and  its  constant  augmentation,  the 
passport  was  sent,  and  Roldan  now  stood  in  the  presence  of  his 
superior.  Several  interviews  and  the  exchange  of  several  letters 
brought  them  no  nearer  to  an  agreement.  Roldan 'actually 
availed  himself  of  his  presence  at  San  Domingo  to  gain  recruits 
for  his  service.  He  finally  departed  under  pretext  of  consulting 
his  men,  but,  on  the  contrary,  he  wrote  an  arrogant  letter  to  the 
admiral  on  November  6th,  dictating  his  own  terms  and  demand 
ing  a  reply  by  the  nth  at  Conception,  whither  he  was  going  on: 
account  of  the  scarcity  of  provisions  at  Bonao.  As  it  was  im 
possible  for  him  to  accede  to  Roldan's  insolent  demands,  Colum 
bus  issued  a  proclamation  of  amnesty  and  pardon  to  all  who- 
would  come  in  within  thirty  days  and  return  to  their  allegiance 
to  the  sovereigns,  a  free  conveyance  to  Spain  for  all  who  wished 
to  return,  and  denouncing  severe  punishment  on  all  who  refused 
to  comply.  When  Carvajal  arrived  at  Conception  with  a  copy 
of  the  proclamation  for  Roldan,  he  found  that  rebel  and  his 
forces  actually  besieging  Fortress  Conception  under  pretext  of 


ON  COLUMBUS.  387 

seizing  a  culprit,  whom  he  demanded  in  his  capacity  as  Alcalde 
Mayor,  and  cutting  off  all  supply  of  water  from  the  fort.  The 
proclamation  posted  at  the  gate  of  the  fortress  only  elicited  in 
sults  and  jeers  from  the  rebels  and  threats  of  retaliation.  At 
length  the  persuasions  of  Carvajal  brought  the  rebels  to  terms, 
which  were  signed  by  Roldan  and  his  followers  at  Fort  Concep 
tion  on  November  i6th,  and  by  the  admiral  at  San  Domingo  on 
the  2ist,  whereby  it  was  agreed  that  the  rebels  would  embark 
for  Spain  in  two  vessels  to  be  provided  and  supplied  by  the 
admiral  at  the  port  of  Xaragua  within  fifty  days  ;  that  they  re 
ceive  certificates  of  good  conduct  and  orders  for  the  payment  of 
their  terms  of  service  ;  that  they  were  to  receive  the  same  num 
ber  of  slaves  as  others,  with  permission  to  carry  them  to  Spain, 
though  none  of  the  slaves  should  be  carried  off  forcibly,  and  if 
they  wished,  such  as  had  native  wives  and  children  might  carry 
them  in  place  of  the  slaves  ;  that  confiscated  property  should  be 
released  ;  that  the  ships  remaining  in  Hispaniola  should  not  be 
used  to  molest  the  rebels  on  their  return  voyage  ;  that  they 
might  dispose  of  their  property  before  leaving  the  island,  and 
receive  indemnity  for  such  as  they  might  leave  behind  ;  and  that 
they  should  have  a  safe  conduct  to  Spain.  The  rebels  were  to 
account  to  the  government  for  all  slaves  they  took  out,  and  for 
all  government  property  they  might  hold.  The  admiral  of  his 
own  generosity  dispensed  from  penalties  such  of  the  rebels  as 
wished  to  remain  in  the  island  in  the  king's  service,  or  as  culti 
vators  of  the  soil,  promising  them  land  and  Indians  to  work  the 
same  ;  but  as  they  all  preferred  to  return  to  Spain  with  Roldan, 
Miguel  Ballester  was  sent  with  them  to  Xaragua  to  expedite  their 
departure  in  the  ships. 

The  urgency  of  this  measure  to  the  admiral's  deep  regret  pre 
vented  the  prosecution  of  the  exploration  of  Terra  Firma  either 
by  himself  or  the  Adelantado.  The  ships  were  sent  to  Xaragua 
in  February,  1499,  but  in  consequence  of  the  scarcity  of  ship's 
provisions  and  the  confused  and  impoverished  condition  caused 
by  the  misconduct  of  the  rebels,  it  was  after  the  stipulated  time 
of  fifty  days  before  they  sailed  from  San  Domingo  for  Xaragua  ; 
and  even  then  one  of  the  ships,  which  became  disabled  by  a 
storm,  had  to  be  replaced  by  another.  By  the  time  both  vessels 
met  at  Xaragua,  probably  in  April,  the  rebels  refused  to  embark, 
and  they  cast  the  blame  upon  the  admiral,  alleging  that  he  had 


388  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

purposely  delayed  the  ships,  had  finally  sent  unsea worthy  ones, 
and  that  they  were  insufficiently  victualled.  Carvajal  made  a 
protest  before  a  notary  in  his  company,  and  as  the  ships  began 
to  suffer  from  the  teredo,  and  the  provisions  were  giving  out,  he 
sent  them  back  to  San  Domingo,  while  he  set  out  for  the  same 
place  overland.  Roldan  accompanied  him  a  short  distance,  and 
on  the  way  manifested  great  distrust  of  his  present  situation,  and 
expressed  an  anxious  desire  to  treat  again  with  the  admiral, 
avowing  his  loyalty  and  asking  safe  conducts  for  himself  and  fol 
lowers  on  their  mission  to  the  admiral ;  but  his  followers,  whom  he 
seemed  to  distrust,  were  not  to  know  of  this  proposal  to  treat  with 
the  admiral  again.  Columbus  having  returned  to  San  Domingo 
from  a  tour  of  inspection  through  the  island  with  the  Adelantado, 
in  which  he  had  endeavored  to  restore  peace  to  his  distracted 
domain,  he  immediately  forwarded  the  safe  conducts  to  the 
rebels.  But  now,  in  the  midst  of  his  unceasing  and  herculean 
efforts  to  serve  his  sovereigns,  he  received  from  Spain  an  answer 
to  his  urgent  representations  of  the  preceding  fall,  in  which  he 
gave  an.  account  of  the  rebellion  of  Roldan,  the  confusion  and 
disorder  he  had  created  throughout  the  island,  and  appealing 
to  the  crown  for  support  in  his  efforts  to  bring  order  and  pros 
perity  to  the  country.  When  it  is  related  that  his  inveterate 
enemy,  Fonseca,  had  written  the  letter,  its  character  may  be 
preconceived,  for  instead  of  royal  sympathy  and  approval  to  his 
effort:;  for  the  service  of  the  crown,  he  was  coldly  informed  that 
the  sovereigns  reserved  the  matter  in  their' hands  for  future  con 
sideration  and  remedy.  Thus  discouraged  and  disheartened  at 
the  very  moment  he  needed  the  rebels  to  know  that  his  adminis 
tration  was  sustained  in  Spain,  he  yet,  with  admirable  and  heroic 
constancy,  bent  all  his  efforts  to  secure  some  settlement  with  the 
rebels,  and  for  this  purpose,  accompanied  by  many  of  his  prin 
cipal  counsellors,  he  moved  nearer  to  Xaragua  in  his  two  cara 
vels,  and  anchored  in  the  port  of  Azua.  Here  he  was  met  by 
Roldan,  accompanied  by  Moxica  and  other  principal  insurgents, 
who  even  now  again  showed  the  utmost  insolence  and  arrogance 
in  their  interviews  with  him. 

The  terms  now  demanded  by  the  rebels  were  that  Roldan 
might  send  fifteen  of  his  men  to  Spain  by  the  vessels  at  San 
Domingo  ;  that  those  remaining  behind  should  have  separate 
tracts  of  land  in  lieu  of  pay  ;  that  a  proclamation  should  issue 


ON   COLUMBUS.  389 

exculpating  them  from  all  blame  and  announcing  that  all  the 
charges  made  against  them  were  false  and  invented  by  the  ene 
mies  of  the  crown,  and  that  Roldan  should  be  restored  to  his 
office  of  Alcalde  Mayor.  Humiliating  as  these  insolent  terms 
were,  the  admiral  felt  compelled  to  accept  them  as  the  lesser 
evil.  Even  now  Roldan  claimed  the  right  to  consult  his  fol 
lowers,  and  after  two  days  they  sent  to  the  admiral  their  terms 
of  capitulation  in  writing,  which  embraced  not  only  the  clauses 
above  mentioned,  but  also  the  provisions  of  the  arrangement  pro 
posed  at  Conception  ;  and  while  the  demands  made  were  arro 
gant  and  insolent  both  in  substance  and  in  language,  their  final 
assumption  exceeded  all  the  others  combined,  that  if  the  admiral 
should  fail  to  fulfil  any  of  these  conditions,  these  rebels  should 
have  the  right  to  assemble  and  compel  their  performance  by 
force  or  otherwise,  as  they  might  think  proper.  Columbus,  in 
the  straitened  and  almost  abandoned  condition  in  which  he 
was,  anarch)'  reigning  in  Hispaniola  and  distrusts  and  machina 
tions  at  work  against  him  in  Spain,  had  no  other  choice  than  to 
submit  to  these  humiliating  terms.  Had  he  made  a  bold  and 
public  exposition  to  the  world  of  the  condition  of  things — the 
crimes  of  his  enemies  in  Hispaniola  and  the  ingratitude  and 
neglect  of  his  king — he  would  have  drawn  to  himself  the  sym 
pathy  of  all,  but  Spanish  dominion  in  the  new  world  would  have 
received  a  stunning  blow.  He  sacrificed  every  personal  feeling 
and  interest  for  the  good  of  his  country.  He  hoped  at  a  future 
day  to  report  in  person  to  the  sovereigns  the  condition  of  things, 
and  obtain  even  tardy  justice  from  the  court  ;  and  as  for  pos 
terity,  he  knew  it  would  do  full  justice  to  his  character,  his 
services,  and  his  achievements.  Having  now  granted  all  to  the 
rebels,  at  the  last  moment  with  innate  dignity  he  inserted  a 
clause  that  all  should  obey  promptly  the  commands  of  the  sover 
eigns,  of  himself,  and  of  the  justices  appointed  by  him.  The 
straits  to  which  the  Viceroy  of  the  Indies  was  reduced  might  be 
estimated  from  one  among  other  facts  :  the  very  men  around  his 
person,  those  whom  he  esteemed  the  most  loyal,  seeing  how 
powerless  he  was  in  the  face  of  the  rebels,  and  how  they  had 
dictated  terms  to  him,  openly  talked  of  abandoning  his  cause, 
seizing  the  fine  eastern  province  of  Higuey  and  its  gold  mines, 
setting  up  a  separate  government,  and  enriching  themselves  in 
defiance  of  all  honor  and  duty.  It  was  the  forbearance  of  Colum- 


390  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

bus  that  saved  Hispaniola,  the  first  Spanish  dominion  in  America, 
from  anarchy  and  self-destruction,  and  perhaps  prevented  the 
abandonment  of  the  new  world  again  to  barbarism. 

What  greater  humiliation  could  have  been  reserved  for  him 
than  to  find  himself  compelled  to  sign  a  commission  appointing 
Roldan,  the  chief  rebel,  a  criminal  outlaw,  to  the  responsible 
office  of  Alcalde  Mayor,  or  chief  justice  of  the  island  ?  It  is  re 
lated  by  the  Count  de  Lorgues,  though  not  mentioned  by  Irving 
or  Tarducci,  that  the  clause  reserving  obedience  to  the  com 
mands  of  the  crown,  of  the  admiral,  and  of  his  justices,  was  in 
serted  in  Roldan's  commission,  and  that  when  that  insolent 
usurper  saw  it.  he  violently  ordered  the  words  to  be  erased,  and 
appealed  to  his  lawless  followers  to  sustain  him,  proclaiming  his 
purpose  of  hanging  any  one  that  dared  to  contradict  him.  "  The 
admiral,"  says  De  Lorgues,  "  had  still  to  submit  to  the  will  of 
his  former  ungrateful  and  rebellious  servitor."  And  Tarducci, 
speaking  of  the  patience  and  wise  forbearance  which  he  practised 
under  such  humiliations,  says  ' '  that  the  new  continent  his  genius 
had  foreseen  .  .  .  remained  a  glorious  field  for  the  labors 
and  discoveries  of  those  who  came  after  him."  And  our  own 
countryman,  Mr.  Irving,  writes,  "  Thus  critically  situated,  dis 
regarding  every  consideration  of  personal  pride  and  dignity,  and 
determined,  at  any  individual  sacrifice,  to  secure  the  interests  of 
an  ungrateful  sovereign,  Columbus  forced  himself  to  sign  this 
most  humiliating  capitulation."  * 

Columbus  was  a  man  of  too  great  a  mind  and  soul  to  be  appre 
ciated  by  his  contemporaries.  The  ordeal  of  successes  the  most 
brilliant  and  of  reverses  the  most  humiliating  serves  only  to 
enhance  his  exalted  character  in  the  eyes  of  posterity.  But  the 
severe  humiliations  to  which  in  life  he  was  subjected  seemed 
then,  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  to  hide  from  view  the  grandeur 
of  his  conduct,  the  exalted  purity  of  his  motives,  the  ennobling 
virtues  which  he  practised,  the  consummate  wisdom  of  his  policy, 
and  the  self-sacrifice  he  made  for  his  country  and  for  the  world. 
In  fact,  it  seems  to  have  required  the  toning  influences  of  four 
hundred  years  and  the  unparalleled  development  of  the  Ameri- 

*  For  the  details  of  this  narrative  consult  Herrera,  "  Hist.  Ind.;"  Fernando  Columbus, 
"  Hist,  del  Almirante  ;"  Mufloz,  "  Hist.  Nuevo  Mundo  ;"  Barry's  translation  of  De 
Lorgues'  "  Life  of  Columbus  ;"  Irving's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  and  Mr.  Brownson's 
translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus." 


ON   COLUMBUS.  39! 

% 

can  nations,  enhanced  by  their  present  grandeur,  to  secure  for 
Christopher  Columbus  the  just  admiration  and  the  grateful  appre 
ciation  of  mankind.  The  recent  work  on  Columbus  from  the 
pen  of  Justin  Winsor,  the  Librarian  of  Harvard  College,  is  so 
great  a  departure  from  historical  fairness  and  judicious  investi 
gation,  even  from  an  avowed  enemy  of  Columbus,  that  it  is  uni 
versally  regarded  as  a  mean  attempt  to  deprive  Columbus  of  the 
credit  and  glory  of  his  discovery.  Its  violence  will  consign  it  to 
obscurity.  It  is  a  mere  travesty  of  all  dignified  and  impartial 
history. 

Nothing  could  be  more  unjust  than  the  attempts  of  some  mod 
ern  historians  to  hold  Columbus  responsible  for  the  introduction 
of  slavery  into  America,  or  for  the  cruel  encomiendas  which 
under  Ovando,  whom  King  Ferdinand  appointed  to  supersede 
him,  completed  the  enslavement  of  the  natives  to  the  Spaniards. 
I  do  not  contend  that  Columbus  made  no  mistakes  or  fell  into  no 
serious  errors,  but  these  were  the  mistakes  and  errors  of  judg 
ment  or  of  administration,  which  have  also  and  equally  checkered 
the  careers  of  the  best  and  greatest  of  men.  Columbus  was  not 
the  friend  of  human  slavery,  for  one  of  the  most  prominent  acts 
performed  by  him  on  his  first  voyage  was  the  liberation  of  four 
natives  captured  and  imprisoned  by  Pinzon  on  his  ship  with  the 
intention  of  selling  them  in  Spain  as  slaves — an  act  of  justice 
which  brought  on  him  the  undying  hatred  of  that  commander. 
No  upright  man  in  the  nineteenth  century  can  approve  the  deeds 
of  any  man  in  any  age  for  the  enslavement  of  mankind  ;  nor  can 
a  just  man  now  fairly  judge  the  actions  of  Columbus,  inspired 
by  the  prevailing  sentiments  and  practices  of  the  fifteenth  cen 
tury,  by  the  standards  of  the  nineteenth.  In  making  prisoners 
of  war  of  the  cannibal  Caribs  taken  in  arms  and  attacking  his 
own  peaceful  Indians  of  Hispaniola,  Columbus  only  acted  in 
conformity  to  the  customs  of  his  own  and  more  recent  times. 
The  laws  of  war  then  sanctioned  this  policy.  Mr.  Fiske  writes 
of  this  part  of  the  admiral's  history  :  "  When  Columbus  came  to 
Hispaniola  on  his  second  voyage,  with  seventeen  ships  and  fifteen 
hundred  followers,  he  found  the  relations  between  red  men  and 
white  men  already  hostile  ;  and  in  order  to  get  food  for  so  many 
Spaniards  foraging  expeditions  were  undertaken,  which  made 
matters  worse.  This  state  of  things  led  Columbus  to  devise  a 
notable  expedient.  In  some  of  the  neighboring  islands  lived  the 


392  OLD   AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

voracious  Caribs.  In  fleets  of  canoes  they  would  swoop  upon 
the  coasts  of  Hispaniola,  capture  men  and  women  by  the  score, 
and  carry  them  off  to  be  cooked  and  eaten.  Now  Columbus 
wished  to  win  the  friendship  of  the  Indians  about  him  by  defend 
ing  them  against  these  enemies,  and  so  he  made  raids  against 
these  Caribs,  took  some  of  them  captive  and  sent  them  as  slaves 
to  Spain,  to  be  taught  Spanish  and  converted  to  Christianity,  so 
that  they  might  come  back  to  the  islands  as  interpreters,  and  thus 
be  useful  aids  in  missionary  work.  '  It  was  really,'  said  Colum 
bus,  '  a  kindness  to  these  cannibals  to  enslave  them  and  send 
them  where  they  could  be  baptized  and  rescued  from  everlasting 
perdition  ;  and  then  again  they  could  be  received  in  payment  for 
the  cargoes  of  cattle,  seeds,  wine,  and  other  provisions  which 
must  be  sent  from  Spain  for  the  support  of  the  colony.'  Thus 
quaintly  did  the  great  discoverer,  like  so  many  good  men  before 
and  since,  mingle  considerations  of  religion  with  those  of  domestic 
economy."  "  Slavery,  however,  sprang  up  in  Hispaniola  before 
any  one  could  have  fully  realized  the  meaning  of  what  was  going 
on.  As  the  Indians  were  unfriendly  and  food  must  be  had, 
while  foraging  expeditions  were  apt  to  end  in  plunder  and  blood 
shed,  Columbus  tried  to  regulate  matters  by  prohibiting  such 
expeditions,  and  in  lieu  thereof  imposing  a  light  tribute  or  tax 
upon  the  entire  population  of  Hispaniola  above  fourteen  years 
of  age.  As  this  population  was  dense,  a  little  from  each  person 
meant  a  good  deal  in  the  lump.  The  tribute  might  be  a  small 
piece  of  gold  or  of  cotton,  and  was  to  be  paid  four  times  a  year. 
Every  time  that  an  Indian  paid  this  tax  a  small  brass  token  duly 
stamped  was  to  be  given  him  to  hang  about  his  neck  as  a  voucher. 
If  there  were  Indians  who  felt  unable  to  pay  the  tribute,  they 
might  as  an  alternative  render  a  certain  amount  of  personal  ser 
vice  in  helping  to  plant  seed  or  tend  cattle  for  the  Spaniards." 
Again  Mr.  Fiske  writes  :  "  No  doubt  these  regulations  were 
well  meant,  and  if  the  two  races  had  been  more  evenly  matched, 
perhaps  they  might  not  have  so  speedily  developed  into 
tyranny."  *  In  another  place  the  same  author  says  this  imposi 
tion  of  tribute  by  Columbus  "  was  part  of  a  plan  for  checking 
depredations  and  regulating  the  relations  between  the  Spaniards 
and  the  Indians,  "f  A  close  examination  of  the  progress  of 


*  "The  Discovery  of  America,"  by  John  Fiske,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  432-34. 
f  Id.,  vol.  i.,  p.  481. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  393 

events  shows  that  Columbus  was  not  responsible  for  the  subse 
quent  introduction  of  the  repartimientos,  which  may  be  styled  a 
form  of  serfdom,  and  which  was  the  act  of  the  ruthless  and  rapa 
cious  gangs  of  lawless  Spaniards  who  formed  the  colony  of 
Columbus  in  the  second  expedition,  against  whom  we  have  seen 
he  was  powerless,  and  was  legalized  and  riveted  upon  the  Indians 
under  Aguado.  It  was  the  evident  intention  of  Columbus  to 
have  limited  his  plan  of  regulating  the  relations  of  the  two  races 
to  a  moderate  tribute,  and  this  was  intended  as  a  check  upon 
Spanish  rapacity  and  tyranny.  Under  Ovando  the  repartimientos 
were  deliberately  developed  into  the  more  cruel  encomiendas,  the 
complete  enslavement  of  the  natives  to  their  Spanish  conquerors, 
and  their  final  extermination  by  the  most  remorseless  and  hideous 
cruelties. 

Even  Peschel,  the  eminent  German  geographer  and  anthro 
pologist,  whose  judgment  of  Columbus  is  in  general  harsh,  even 
unjust,  said,  in  relation  to  his  treatment  of  the  Indians,  what 
Washington  Irving  and  so  many  others  have  said,  "  When  we 
see,  however,  in  our  own  day  how  the  rights  of  the  weaker  races 
are  shamefully  violated,  we  may  have  some  indulgence  for  this 
man  of  the  fifteenth  century." 

Even  Winsor  acknowledges  the  justice  and  the  necessity  of 
judging  Columbus  according  to  the  prevailing  sentiments  of  his 
own  age,  and  not  by  those  of  our  own,  for  he  says,  "  No  man 
craves  more  than  Columbus  to  be  judged  with  all  the  palliations 
demanded  of  a  difference  of  his  own  age  and  ours."  Yet 
throughout  his  book  he  signally  violates  the  rule  he  recognizes. 

Among  the  contemporaries  and  companions  of  Columbus  was 
the  great  and  illustrious  Las  Casas,  afterward  Bishop  of  Chiapa, 
in  Mexico,  who  was  an  eye-witness  and  a  conscientious  historian 
of  the  great  events  of  the  discoverer's  life.  His  "  History  of  the 
Indies"  is  the  great  basis  of  our  modern  histories  in  all  subse 
quent  times,  and  as  Mr.  Fiske,  quoting  Washington  Irving,  justly 
says  of  it  :  "  In  a  far  truer  sense  than  any  other  book  it  may  be 
called  the  corner-stone  of  the  history  of  the  American  Conti 
nent."  *  Now,  if  there  is  any  one  feature  more  prominent  than 
others  in  a  life  replete  with  pre-eminent  acts  and  labors  of  humane 
and  heroic  goodness — a  life  which  is  justly  regarded  as  exhibiting 


John  Fiske's  "The  Discovery  of  America,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  481. 


394  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

a  character  which  was  "  the  highest  type  of  manhood" — it  was 
that  Las  Casas  was  the  best  and  noblest  friend  of  the  Indians, 
and  their  most  illustrious  and  consistent  liberator,  the  champion 
of  human  liberty.  It  is  difficult  for  us,  in  the  nineteenth  cen 
tury,  after  four  hundred  years  of  calumny  and  detraction,  to 
form  a  perfect  conception  of  the  life,  character,  and  deeds  of  the 
great  discoverer  of  1492.  But  Las  Casas,  his  companion,  the 
witness  of  his  career,  the  great  historian  of  that  age,  was,  with 
out  question,  the  most  competent  to  judge  and  record  his  true 
and  undisguised  acts,  which  passed  under  his  own  eye.  Had 
Columbus  been  an  enslaver  of  the  Indians,  Las  Casas  would  have 
known  it,  and  he  certainly  would  have  been  the  first  to  denounce 
him,  for  he  denounced  his  successors,  his  own  countrymen  and 
those  in  the  highest  places,  for  the  subsequent  enslavement  of 
the  redmen.  He  won  to  the  cause  of  liberty  and  the  liberation 
of  the  Indians  the  Emperor  Charles  V.,  Cardinal  Ximenes,  and 
the  Pope  ;  and  with  these  powerful  allies  he  made  the  Indians  of 
America  free.  That  such  a  champion  of  freedom  should  have 
admired  and  praised  Columbus  for  his  administration  in  His- 
paniola,  and  in  respect  to  the  very  events  which  Mr.  Winsor 
and  others  have  used  for  their  accusation — that  Columbus  was 
the  enslaver  of  the  Indians — is  sufficient  to  refute  unanswerably 
so  unjust  and  false  a  charge.  Mr.  Fiske,  in  his  preface  to  "  The 
Discovery  of  America,"  p.  xi..  says:  "  The  most  'conspicuous 
difference"  (between  himself  and  Justin  Winsor  in  regard  to 
Columbus)  "  is  that  which  concerns  the  personal  character  of 
Columbus.  Mr.  Winsor  writes  in  a  spirit  of  energetic  (not  to 
say  violent)  reaction  against  the  absurdities  of  Roselly  de  Lorgues 
and  others  who  have  tried  to  make  a  saint  of  Columbus  ;  and 
under  the  influence  of  this  reaction  he  offers  us  a  picture  of  the 
great  navigator  that  serves  to  raise  a  pertinent  question.  No 
man  can  deny  that  Las  Casas  was  a  keen  judge  of  men,  or  that 
his  standard  of  right  and  wrong  was  quite  as  lofty  as  any  one 
has  reached  in  our  own  time.  He  had  a  much  more  intimate 
knowledge  of  Columbus  than  any  modern  historian  can  ever 
hope  to  acquire,  and  he  always  speaks  of  him  with  warm  admira 
tion  and  respect  ;  but  how  could  Las  Casas  ever  have  respected 
the  feeble,  mean-spirited  driveller  whose  portrait  Mr.  Winsor 
asks  us  to  accept  as  that  of  the  discoverer  of  America  ?" 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  fact  that  though  Columbus 


ON   COLUMBUS.  395 

was  the  discoverer  of  the  new  world,  the  justice  of  naming  it  in 
honor  of  its  discoverer  was  denied  to  him.  It  is  curious  to 
observe  how  universal  was  the  belief  that  the  newly  discovered 
countries  were  a  part  of  Asia,  and  how  -long  it  was  before  the 
world  came  to  realize  that  they  formed  parts  of  a  new  world. 
It  is  true,  Americus  Vespucius  was  the  first  to  use  the  expression 
Novus  Mundus,  but  he  had  not  the  slightest  idea  that  the  lands 
which  he  had  discovered  at  the  south,  and  to  which  he  applied 
that  term,  were  parts  of  the  same  countries  that  Columbus  had 
discovered  as  a  part  of  Asia.  The  injustice  of  accusing  Americus 
of  contriving  designedly  and  treacherously  to  have  his  own  name 
conferred  upon  the  new  world  is  almost  as  great  as  that  by 
which  Columbus  lost  the  honor  of  having  it  receive  his  name. 

Americus  Vespucius  was  a  native  of  Florence,  where  he  was 
born  on  March  i8th,  1452.  He  was  of  a  good  family,  possessed 
no  mean  attainments  in  Latin,  astronomy,  geography,  and  was 
an  energetic  collector  of  maps,  charts,  globes,  and  works  on  his 
favorite  studies.  He  was  a  merchant  by  profession,  and  was 
taken  into  the  great  commercial  house  of  the  Medici  at  Florence. 
He  was  subsequently  and  successively  in  the  employment  of  the 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  governments,  and  he  took  part  in  fitting 
out  under  contracts  Columbus's  second  voyage.  He  made  four 
voyages  to  the  Western  Hemisphere  :  the  first  voyage  in  1497- 
98  ;  the  second  was  made  in  company  with  Alonzo  de  Ojeda  and 
Juan  de  la  Cosa  in  1499-1500,  in  which  they  explored  the  north 
ern  coast  of  South  America,  including  the  north  coast  of  Brazil  ; 
his  third  voyage  was  made  in  the  service  of  Portugal,  occurred 
in  1501-1502,  and  embraced  the  Brazilian  coast  as  far  as  latitude 
34°  S.,  and  he  thence  ran  as  far  as  the  island  of  South  Georgia  ; 
the  fourth  voyage  was  in  1503-1504,  also  in  the  Portuguese  ser 
vice,  in  which  he  and  Gonzalo  Coelho  endeavored  to  follow  the 
Brazilian  coast  to  its  end,  or  until  they  solved  the  problem  of  the 
passage  to  the  Indian  Ocean. 

It  was  his  first  voyage  which  gave  rise  to  the  accusation  that 
Americus  had  claimed  for  himself  the  discovery  of  the  continent 
before  Columbus  ;  but  this  accusation  is  disposed  of  by  the  fact 
now  established  that  it  was  a  bungling  translation  of  a  single 
word  or  proper  name  in  one  of  his  famous  letters  to  Lorenzo  de 
Medici  and  Soderini.*  In  these  letters  Vespucius  describes  a 

*  Mr.  John  Fiske's  "  Discovery  of  America,"  vol.  ii.,  chap.  7. 


396  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

country  visited  by  him  which  bore  the  Indian  name  of  Lariabr 
and  the  careless  translator  in  the  published  copy  of  the  Quattro 
Giornate*  rendered  the  name  Farias.  This  region  of  Paria  was  a 
part  of  the  continent.  Columbus  had  discovered  it  in  the  summer 
of  1498,  and  Vespucius  did  not  come  within  sight  of  it  until  one 
year  afterward,  in  the  summer  of  1499  ;  but  the  mistranslation, 
giving  Lariab  for  Farias,  would  make  Americus  claim,  over  his 
own  signature,  the  honor  of  first  discovering  the  American  Con 
tinent  in  1497,  just  one  year  prior  to  its  discovery  by  Columbus. 
While  we  recognize  his  character  as  incapable  of  such  falsehood 
and  meanness,  it  is  satisfactory  to  be  able  to  give  the  historical 
narrative  of  the  truth,  which  gives  an  exact  form  and  record  to 
his  acquittal. 

This,  too,  seems  to  be  an  appropriate  place  for  mentioning  and 
giving  the  true  history  of  the  bestowal  of  the  name  of  America 
to  the  western  world,  in  honor  of  Americus  Vespucius,  instead 
of  Columbia,  in  honor  of  Christopher  Columbus.  So  great  was 
the  wrong  inflicted  upon  the  memory  of  Columbus  by  this 
misnomer,  that  many  just  and  able  historians  and  publicists  have 
shown  a  strong  disposition  to  resent  it ;  and  it  was  but  natural  to 
infer  from  the  wrong  itself  that  somebody  with  a  motive  must 
be  guilty  of  basely  bringing  it  about.  It  was  the  next  natural 
step  in  the  course  of  events  to  suspect  Vespucius  of  the  deed,  or 
of  procuring  it  to  be  done,  and  finally  to  accuse  him  of  it.  He 
was  the  man  who  had  the  motive  for  the  act,  and  in  the  absence 
of  historical  data  the  supposed  motive  was  sufficient  to  condemn 
him.  Even  the  great  and  good  Las  Casas  was  among  the  first 
and  most  energetic  in  imputing  this  treason  against  truth  and 
justice  to  Vespucius.  Vexed  at  the  circumstance,  Las  Casas 
reports  that  Americus  "  sinfully  failed  toward  the  admiral,"  and 
he  said,  "  If  Vespucius  purposely  gave  currency  to  this  belief" 
(of  his  first  setting  foot  on  the  main),  "  it  was  a  great  wickedness  ; 
and  if  it  was  not  done  intentionally,  it  looks  like  it."  f  Americus 
was  always  on  terms  of  friendship  and  good  offices  with  Colum 
bus,  and  he  was  a  man  of  too  much  elevation  of  character  to  dor 
or  to  contribute  toward  doing,  so  base  an  action.  He  and 


"The  Four  Voyages  of  Americus  Vespucius." 

f  Fiske's    "Discovery  of   America,"  vol.   ii.,  pp.    156-59;  Winsor's   "Columbus," 
P-  553- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  397 

Columbus  were  never  rivals.  They  were  friends.  Fortunately 
for  the  truth  of  history  and  for  the  honor  of  our  race,  the  means 
are  now  at  hand  to  remove  this  stain  from  the  memory  of  a  great 
man  and  distinguished  navigator.  The  perversion  of  names,  for 
so  it  may  be  called,  resulted  almost  from  accident,  certainly 
from  the  ignorance  of  the  geography  of  the  newly  discovered 
countries  which  prevailed  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  cen 
tury  and  for  a  long  time  afterward.  There  was  no  treason  or 
malice  in  the  business. 

The  discoveries  of  Americus  Vespucius  created  a  great  sensa 
tion  in  the  world,  and  his  graphic  descriptions  of  them  in  his 
famous  letters,  which  were  afterward  published,  had  the  effect 
of  placing  him  on  a  plane  of  honor  second  only  to  that  of  Columbus. 
Brazil  was  his  great  discovery.  The  line  of  demarcation  as  altered 
from  that  of  Pope  Alexander  VI.  gave  this  vast  region  to  Portu 
gal.  It  was  west  of  that  famous  line  drawn  across  the  earth  from 
pole  to  pole,  as  subsequently  fixed  by  treaty  between  Spain  and 
Portugal.  Little  did  Americus  or  any  one  else  imagine  that  this 
region  was  in  the  same  part  of  the  world  with  the  countries  dis 
covered  by  Columbus.  It  was  thought  to  be  a  part  of  another 
or  fourth  part  of  the  earth,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  three  parts 
known  to  the  ancients — Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa.  Hence  it  was 
that  Americus  applied  to  it  honestly  and  naturally  the  title  of 
Novus  Mundus.  The  famous  letter  of  Vespucius  containing  this 
phrase  was  published  in  Paris  by  Giovanni  Giocondo,  of  Flor 
ence,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  author,  and  while  he  was 
absent  from  Europe.  This  publication  was  the  great  cause  of 
Vespucius' s  fame  as  the  discoverer  of  a  world  wholly  distinct 
from  that  new  part  of  Asia  which  Columbus  had  discovered. 

But  now  a  powerful  yet  not  wicked,  an  almost  unconscious 
help  was  given  to  the  wrong  done  to  Columbus  from  an  unex 
pected  quarter  and  from  an  almost  obscure  personage.  At  a 
small  town  in  the  Vosges,  in  the  realm  of  Ren6  II.,  Duke  of 
Lorraine,  named  Saint  Di6,  was  a  college  enthusiastically  patron 
ized  by  this  royal  friend  of  letters.  The  town  traced  back  its 
history  to  the  seventh  century,  when  it  began  to  grow  up  as  a 
hamlet  around  the  Benedictine  monastery  founded  by  St.  Deo- 
datus,  Bishop  of  Nevers,  and  toward  the  end  of  the  tenth  cen 
tury  the  monastery  was  transferred  from  the  Benedictines  to  a 
secular  chapter  of  canons,  and  was  presided  over  by  a  bishop 


398  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

under  the  title  of  Grand  Provost.     Under  the  patronage  of  the 
college  the  town  grew  and  prospered,  possessed  a  population  of 
eight  thousand,    was  a  manufacturing  and  agricultural  centre, 
and  with  the  changes  of  time  St.   Deodatus  became  more  con 
veniently  contracted  to  Saint  Die.     Many  eminent  scholars  had 
filled  the  chair  of  Grand  Provost,  and  under  the  patronage  of 
Walter  Lud,  the  secretary  of  Duke  Rene,  a  printing-press  was 
established  at  the  college  about  the  year  1500.     To  this  remote 
and  obscure  town  many  men  of  learning  congregated,  and  among 
its  professors  were  many  men  of  note  and  erudition.     Among 
the  latter  came  the  young  professor  of  Latin,  Ringmann,  who 
journeyed  from  Paris  to  Saint  Die  in  1505,  to  adorn  its  councils 
with  his  wit  and  brilliancy.     In  that  year,  too,  there  came  to  the 
College  of  Saint  Die  a  young  and  talented  professor  of  geography, 
Martin  Waldseemiiller,  from  Freiburg.     The  two  young  profes 
sors  were  congenial  spirits.     It  may  well  be  imagined  how  the 
news  of  recent  marvellous  discoveries  had  electrified  the  faculty 
of   this  learned  college.     The  discoveries  of  Columbus  seemed 
almost  eclipsed  by  those  of  Vespucius.     But  Waldseemiiller  had 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  Giocondo  at  Paris,  and  had  caught 
from  him  the  greatest  enthusiasm  for  Americus  Vespucius,  the 
discoverer  of  Novus  Mundus,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  was  thought 
to  be  the  fourth  quarter  of  the  earth,  and  no  doubt  he  had  pored 
over  the  letter  of  Vespucius  to   Medici,   which  Giocondo  had 
published  with  the  title  of  "  De  Ora  Antarctica."     It  was  during 
the  height  of  this  enthusiastic  admiration  for  Americus  that  his 
second  letter,  addressed  to  Soderini,  which  gave  a  brief  account 
of  his  four  voyages,  at  Lisbon,   September  4th,    1504,  began  to 
become  known  through   manuscript  copies,  became  printed  at 
Florence  in  the  first  half  of  1506  by  Pacini,  in  Italian,  and  finally 
a  French  copy  was  made  by  an  unknown  hand,  and  of  this  last 
version  in  French  the  learned  faculty  of  Saint  Die  procured  a 
copy  from  Portugal  through  their  patron,  the  Duke  of  Lorraine. 
A  rare  and  splendid  edition  of  the  great  geographical  work  of 
Ptolemy,  in  the  mean  time,  and   for  some  time  previously,  had 
been  in  preparation  by  Walter  Lud,  Ringmann,  and  Waldsee 
miiller,  and  was  to  be  issued  in  Latin  from  the  press  of  Saint  Die, 
with  important  additions  of  modern  geographical  learning,  bring 
ing  all  down  to  that  date,  1507.     While  Lud  defrayed  the  ex 
pense  of  the  publication,  Waldseemiiller  performed  the  scientific 


ON   COLUMBUS.  399 

and  Ringmann  the  philological  part  of  the  enterprise.     Waldsee- 
mliller's  map,  Tabula   Terre  Nove,  and  a  treatise  by  him  also  as 
an  introductory  to  the  great  publication,  were  to  form  a  part  of 
the   whole  ;    and   now   just   before   the  work  was  issued  Duke 
Rene,  having  presented  the  French  copy  of  Vespucius's  Soderini 
letter  to  the  learned  trio,  that,  too,  was  eagerly  made  to  form  a 
part  of  the  work.     This  last  addition  was  the  most  important  of 
all  ;  but  it  was  translated  into  Latin,  and  by  a  strange  liberty 
Vespucius  was  made  to  address  his  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Lor 
raine,  Rene,  instead  of  Soderini.     This  version  of  the  letter  con 
tains  the  mistake  by  which  Farias,  a  country  and  part  of  the  con 
tinent  discovered  by  Columbus,  was  substituted  by  Lariab,  an 
Indian  name  by  which  Vespucius  designated  another  and  obscure 
country  he  had  seen.     This  notable  publication  was  issued  from 
the  press  of  Saint  Di6  on  April  25th,   1507,  under  the  title  of 
"  Cosmographise   Introductio."      It   has   become   more   famous 
since  it  was  the  first  work  published  which  contained  the  name 
America,  and  this   was  the  name  which  Waldseemiiller,   in  his 
introduction,    suggested   should   be  bestowed  upon  that  fourth 
part  of  the  earth  which  Americus  Vespucius  had  discovered  and 
described,  and  which  formed  the  complement  of  the  other  three 
parts  of  Ptolemy,  making  now  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  and  America. 
We  must  bear  in   mind  that  the  country  thus  designated    by 
Waldseemiiller  as   America  was,  in  fact,  the  Novus  Mundus  of 
Vespucius,    which   was,    in  fact,   none  other  than    Brazil  ;    and 
Waldseemiiller  had  no  thought  whatever  of  bestowing  that  name 
upon  countries  discovered  by  Columbus.     Mr.  Fiske  has  given 
us  a  translation  of  the  Latin  passage  from  the  young  Professor 
Waldseemiiller's   introduction,   which    reads  :  "  But   now    these 
parts  have  been  more  extensively  explored,  and   the  fourth  part 
has  been  discovered  by  Americus  Vespucius  (as  will  appear  in 
what  follows),  wherefore  I  do  not  see  what  is  rightly  to  hinder 
us  from  calling  it  Amerige  or  America — i.e.,  the  land  of  Ameri 
cus — after  its  discoverer,  Americus,  a  man  of  sagacious  mind, 
since  both  Europe  and  Asia  have  got  their  names  from  women. 
Its  situation  and  the  manners  and  customs  of  its  people  will  be 
clearly   understood   from  the  twice  two  voyages  of   Americus 
which  follow."  * 


*  Fiske's  "  Discovery  of  America,"  vol.  ii.,  chap.  7,  passim. 


400  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

From  the  beginning  and  then  the  countries  discovered  by 
Columbus  were  known  as  Asia,  or  the  Indies.  A  copy  of  the 
edition  of  the  Saint  Die  work  of  1509  was  in  the  library  of  Fer 
nando  Columbus,  the  second  son  of  the  admiral,  who  was  a 
scholar  and  the  biographer  of  his  illustrious  father.  His  life  of 
the  admiral  was  written  after  this,  and  he  took  no  exception  to 
the  suggestion  of  America  by  Waldseemiiller  as  the  name  to  be 
given  to  the  terra  incognita  of  Vespucius.  There  was  never  any 
intercourse  between  Vespucius  and  the  faculty  of  Saint  Di6, 
nor  did  he  do  anything  himself  toward  the  publications  and  trans 
lations  of  his  letters  to  Medici  and  Soderini  ;  nor  was  he  even  in 
Portugal  when  Soderini  made  the  first  copy  of  the  letter,  but 
was  then  actually  in  Spain.  Then,  too,  in  Spain  he  visited 
Columbus,  with  whom  his  relations  were  always  most  friendly. 
Nor  is  there  anything  to  suggest  that  Waldseemiiller  himself  had 
any  design  to  do  Columbus  an  injustice,  or  to  bestow  the  name 
of  Americus  upon  the  countries  discovered  by  him.  On  the  con 
trary,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  he  supposed  these 
two  newly  discovered  regions  were  in  different  quarters  of  the 
earth  ;  but  the  first  link  in  the  chain  of  practical  wrong  had  now 
been  wrought.  It  was  easy  for  others  to  follow. 

The  first  map  which  ever  contained  the  name  of  America  was 
that  published  in  1514,  and  attributed  to  the  famous  painter, 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  and  on  this  map  the  region  designated  as 
America  was  drawn  as  a  great  island  or  continent  by  itself,  and 
mostly  south  of  the  equator.  It  was  Brazil.  So  also  Schoner's 
globe  in  1515  contained  the  same  extensive  region,  which  he  calls 
"  America  or  Brasilia,  or  Land  of  Paroquets."  The  Novus 
Mundus  was,  in  fact,  the  southern  continent,  and  in  the  course 
of  time  America  became  the  name  of  the  southern  continent,  and 
Brazil  the  name  of  a  part  of  it  designated  as  America.  In  the 
course  of  years  all  South  America  was  circumnavigated  and 
found  to  be  a  continent,  and  by  1550  the  more  northern  lands 
discovered  by  Columbus  had  gradually  become  known  to  be 
separated  from  Asia.  But  now,  in  1541,  Gerard  Mercator  boldly 
forged  the  links  that  followed,  for  he  then  had  applied  the  name 
of  America  to  all  the  Western  Hemisphere,  and  his  map  of  that 
date  gives  a  fair  outline  of  both  the  northern  and  southern  con 
tinents,  all  bearing  the  name  of  the  Florentine  navigator.  It 
was  now,  but  too  late,  that  it  was  discovered  that  Columbus  had 


ON   COLUMBUS.  40! 

been  deprived  of  the  justly  earned  honor  of  bestowing  his  name 
upon  the  new  world  he  had  discovered.  Americus  Vespucius 
was  naturally  but  erroneously  suspected  of  having  brought  this 
about.  Las  Casas,  the  historian  of  the  Indies,  as  we  have  seen, 
was  among  the  first  to  record  his  protest  against  the  wrong  thus 
inflicted  on  his  friend,  the  admiral.  Herrera,  in  1601,  openly 
accused  Americus  of  the  wrong,  which  he  attempted  to  show 
was  accomplished  by  fraud  and  falsehood,  and  the  belief  became 
general  that  Vespucius  had  deliberately  attempted  to  supplant 
Columbus.  Humboldt  commenced  the  vindication  of  Vespucius, 
and  Varnhagen  made  the  refutation  of  the  charge  complete. 
Mr.  John  Fiske,  of  Cambridge,  has  added  greatly  to  the  proofs 
of  his  innocence,  and  has  made  his  acquittal  triumphant. 

It  would  be  a  great  oversight  herein  not  to  refer  to  an  unjust 
charge  that  has  been  made  against  Las  Casas,  the  illustrious 
Bishop  of  Chiapa,  and  still  more  illustrious  as  the  friend  of 
human  liberty.  It  seems  unaccountable  how  such  a  man  should 
have  been  accused  of  enslaving  the  Africans  in  order  to  liberate 
the  Indians.  That  he  labored  unceasingly  for  the  amelioration 
of  the  hideous  cruelties  and  wrongs  which  the  Spaniards  inflicted 
upon  the  Indians,  and  for  their  emancipation  from  the  horrible 
condition  of  slavery,  under  the  name  of  encomiendas,  to  which 
Ovando  had  reduced  them,  are  facts  in  his  glorious  life  of  which 
humanity  may  feel  proud.  It  is  sad  that  under  the  second 
admiral,  Diego  Columbus,  the  condition  of  the  Indians  was  no 
better  than  under  Ovando.  Las  Casas,  who  had  found  good 
reason  for  praising  the  father,  did  not  shrink  from  denouncing 
the  wrongs  which  took  place  under  the  son.  He  united  with 
Antonio  Montesino  and  the  other  brave  and  noble  Dominicans 
in  Hispaniola  in  denouncing  from  the  pulpit  the  enslavement  of 
the  Indians  by  Spanish  planters  and  miners.  He  went  to  Spain 
as  a  missionary  of  liberty,  and  he  ceased  not  to  agitate  for  a 
change  in  the  direful  treatment  of  the  natives  until  he  obtained 
from  the  emperor  the  decree  of  1542,  "  We  order  and  command 
that  henceforward  for  no  cause  whatever,  whether  of  war,  rebel 
lion,  ransom,  or  in  any  other  manner,  can  any  Indian  be  made  a 
slave."  Las  Casas  was  not  a  mere  champion  of  liberty  ;  he  set 
the  example  to  the  Spaniards  by  liberating  first  his  own  slaves. 
I  have  said  that  he  also  gained  as  allies  in  his  angelic  work  not 
only  the  Grand  Cardinal  of  Spain,  Ximenes,  and  the  Emperor 


402  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

i 

Charles  V.,  but  also  that  illustrious  Pope,  Paul  III.  This  great 
and  good  pontiff  issued  his  brief,  which  bears  date  in  1537,  five 
years  before  the  imperial  decree  against  Indian  slavery,  and  thus 
the  further  enslavement  of  Indians  was  forbidden  under  penalty 
of  excommunication  ;  and  any  governor  who  should  give  or 
any  planter  who  should  receive  a  new  encomienda,  which  was  an 
enslavement,  or  who  should  despoil  the  natives  of  their  property, 
should  be  refused  the  sacraments  of  the  Church.  Las  Casas 
translated  the  Latin  brief  into  Spanish,  and  he  sent  it  to  every 
part  of  the  Indies.  Abuse  from  cruel  and  selfish  planters  and 
miners,  rebuffs  from  hardened  officials,  even  from  Fonseca,  all 
tended  only  to  inspire  the  heart  of  Las  Casas  with  a  profounder 
sense  of  his  exalted  apostolate.  It  was  due  to  the  labors  and  sac 
rifices  of  this  true  Christian  bishop  that  the  greater  part  of  Span 
ish  America  was  saved  from  the  horrible  taint  of  human  slavery. 

If  Columbus  suffered  a  grievous  wrong  in  being  deprived  of 
the  honor  of  bestowing  his  name  upon  the  new  world,  which  he 
had  so  bravely  discovered,  what  shall  we  say  of  the  cruel  slander 
which  was  cast  upon  the  name  of  Las  Casas,  the  anti-slavery 
crusader  of  the  sixteenth  century,  in  the  charge  that  he  had  been 
the  means  of  introducing  African  slavery  into  America  !  The 
aspiration  of  this  book  will  be  amply  rewarded  if  it  succeeds  in 
aiding  to  refute  this  calumny,  and  in  removing  from  our  histories 
and  from  the  very  text-books  used  in  some  of  our  public  schools  so 
grave  an  injustice.  To  the  accomplishment  of  this  end,  a  simple 
and  brief  narrative  of  the  facts  ought  to  suffice,  even  though  it  is 
perversely  true  that  with  superficial  and  hasty  thinkers  and 
readers  even  to  our  day,  Las  Casas  is  chiefly  known  as  the  man 
who  introduced  African  slavery  and  the  slave  trade  into  America. 
Appearances,  with  a  slight  foundation  of  fact  in  some  small  and 
trifling  particulars,  have  led  to  this  gross  historical  blunder, 
whereas  a  comprehensive  view  of  all  the  facts  will  easily  set 
forth  the  truth  with  unerring  light. 

Now  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  Indian  slavery  was  already 
established  in  Hispaniola  before  even  the  most  observant  and 
most  humane  were  aware  of  it.  The  rapacity  of  the  early  Span 
ish  colonists,  planters,  and  miners  was  truly  appalling.  It  was 
against  such  odds  that  Las  Casas  waged  his  crusade  of  liberty. 
This  struggle  led  to  an  earnest  and  widespread  consideration  and 
discussion  of  the  inevitable  labor  question.  If  the  Indians  were 


ON   COLUMBUS.  403 

set  free,  who  would  supply  the  labor  necessary  for  the  country 
and  its  enterprises  ?  It  was  the  planters  who  suggested  that  the 
Africans  were  a  much  hardier  race  than  the  Indians,  and  they 
proposed  to  yield  to  the  demands  for  liberty  for  the  Indians,  if 
they  should  be  permitted  to  substitute  for  their  labor  the  labor 
of  the  Africans  as  slaves.  These  discussions  reached  the  Spanish 
Court,  and  there,  too,  the  champion  of  liberty  was  confronted 
with  the  same  argument  he  had  met  in  Hispaniola,  that  labor 
must  be  provided  for  the  working  of  the  plantations  and 
mines  of  New  Spain.  The  whole  force  of  the  situation  pre 
sented  itself  to  the  mind  of  Las  Casas  as  a  choice  between  two 
evils.  Neither  the  sentiments  of  his  age  or  country  nor  the 
education  of  that  century,  both  inherited  from  the  past,  had 
reached  the  point  of  opposition  to  slavery  even  in  the  concrete  ; 
it  would  be  scarcely  just  to  expect  the  sixteenth  century  to  have 
reached  the  stage  of  development  which  even  we  Americans 
have  only  now  reached  in  the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  cen 
tury.  A  man  who  in  those  times  and  circumstances  was  so  far 
in  advance  of  all  around  him  as  to  oppose  any  form  of  slavery 
was  a  hero,  a  philanthropist,  far  in  advance  of  the  age.  The 
thought  that,  upon  universal  principles  applicable  to  all  times 
and  countries,  human  slavery  was  wrong  absolutely  in  itself, 
had  never  become  a  part  of  the  convictions  or  education  of  the 
best  sovereigns  and  statesmen.  Las  Casas  had  himself  been  a 
slaveholder,  just  as  thousands  of  American  citizens  now  living 
have  been  ;  but  he,  like  them,  had  sacrificed  his  private  interests 
on  the  altar  of  liberty.  In  such  a  crisis  of  Indian  emancipation, 
the  suggestion  that  it  would  be  more  humane  to  substitute  the 
hardier  race  of  Africa  in  place  of  the  less  robust  Indian  race  for 
the  working  of  the  Spanish  plantations  and  mines  in  the  new 
world  presented  itself  to  the  benevolent  mind  of  Las  Casas 
purely  as  a  move  in  the  direction  of  amelioration  ;  and  in  answer 
to  the  arguments  used  at  court,  in  the  heat  of  his  advocacy  of 
Indian  liberty,  recalling  the  suggestion  of  the  Spanish  planters, 
he  suggested  that  it  might  solve  the  present  difficulty  by  substi 
tuting  African  slaves  for  Indian  slaves  as  the  lesser  evil. 

But  Las  Casas  was  far  advanced  already  on  the  road  to  univer 
sal  emancipation,  and  it  was  but  a  step  further — a  step  which  he 
soon  promptly  and  heroically  took — to  reach  the  conviction  then 
so  far  in  advance  of  his  own  and  of  even  subsequent  ages,  that 


404  OLD   AND    NEW   LIGHTS 

the  same  principles  of  right  and  wrong,  the  same  title  to  freedom, 
which  applied  to  one  race,  were  equally  applicable  to  the  other. 
He  afterward  announced  his  advocacy  of  the  universal  right  to 
liberty  for  all  men.  He  even  reproved  himself  for  the  apparent 
concession  he  had  made  to  the  planters  and  miners  of  Hispaniola. 
His  great  work,  the  "  History  of  the  Indies,"  sets  forth  the  true, 
final,  and  unalterable  convictions  of  his  great  soul.  He  there 
wrote  that  "if  he  had  sufficiently  considered  the  matter,"  he 
would  not  for  all  the  world  have  entertained  such  a  suggestion 
for  a  moment  ;  for,"  said  he,  "  the  negroes  had  been  made  slaves 
unjustly  and  tyrannically,  and  the  same  reason  holds  good  of 
them  as  of  the  Indians." 

Fortunately  this  passing  remark  of  Las  Casas,  on  the  choice 
of  the  lesser  evil,  had  no  effect  whatever  either  in  introducing 
or  in  increasing  African  slavery  in  America.  On  the  contrary, 
the  effect  of  his  efforts  was  favorable  to  the  restriction  of  African 
slavery  and  the  slave  trade.  Long  before  the  occurrence  which 
I  have  related  African  slavery  existed  in  Hispaniola,  and  African 
slaves  were  then  working  in  its  mines.  A  royal  decree  as  early 
as  1501,  while  forbidding  the  enslavement  of  Europeans  and 
various  other  races  in  Hispaniola,  permitted  the  use  there  of 
negro  slaves,  and  African  slaves  were  imported  there  during  the 
first  ten  years  after  the  decree.  It  was  many  years  afterward 
before  African  slavery,  however,  became  greatly  increased,  and 
Las  Casas  was  an  irreconcilable  opponent  of  it.  He  certainly 
saved  the  poor  Indians  from  utter  annihilation.  But  for  his 
labors,  services,  and  success  in  this  great  work  of  humanity  also, 
the  earlier  or  more  complete  extermination  of  the  Indians  would 
have  inevitably  led  to  an  immense  increase  of  the  African  slave 
trade.  The  facts  on  this  interesting  subject  have  been  lately  and 
greatly  elucidated  by  Mr.  John  Fiske,  of  Cambridge,  in  his 
learned  work,  from  which  I  have  largely  drawn  in  this  connec 
tion,  and  I  know  of  no  more  appropriate  way  of  closing  the  sub 
ject  than  by  quoting  his  strong  language  in  defence  of  Las  Casas. 

When  the  work  of  Las  Casas  is  deeply  considered,  we  cannot 
'make  him  anything  else  but  an  antagonist  of  human  slavery  in 
all  its  forms,  and  the  mightiest  and  most  effective  antagonist 
withal  that  has  ever  lived."  f 


*  Mr.  John  Fiske's  "The  Discovery  of  America,"  vol.  ii.,  p. 456  ;  Las  Casas,  "  His- 
toria  de  las  Indias,"  vol.  ii.,  doc.  175.  f  Id.,  p.  458. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  40$ 

By  the  following  passage,  in  concluding  his  chapter  on  Las 
Casas,  Mr.  Fiske  exhibits  a  striking  instance  in  which  the  eulogist 
wins  exalted  fame  in  the  noble  praises  and  vindication  he  bestows 
upon  another:  "In  contemplating  such  a  life  as  that  of  Las 
Casas,  all  words  of  eulogy  seem  weak  and  frivolous.  The  his 
torian  can  only  bow  in  reverent  awe  before  a  figure  which  is  in 
some  respects  the  most  beautiful  and  sublime  in  the  annals  of 
Christianity  since  the  apostolic  age.  When  now  and  then  in  the 
course  of  the  centuries  God's  providence  brings  such  a  life  into 
this  world,  the  memory  of  it  must  be  cherished  by  mankind  as 
one  of  its  most  precious  and  sacred  possessions.  For  the 
thoughts,  the  words,  the  deeds  of  such  a  man  there  is  no  death. 
The  sphere  of  their  influence  goes  on  widening  forever.  They 
bud,  they  blossom,  they  bear  fruit,  from  age  to  age."  * 


*  Fiske,  "  The  Discovery  of  America,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  482. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

"  Trust  reposed  in  noble  natures 
Obliges  them  the  more." 

— DRYDEN. 

"  The  purpose  of  an  injury  is  to  vex 
And  trouble  me  ;  now  nothing  can  do  that 
To  him  that's  truly  valiant.     He  that  is  affected 
With  the  least  injury  is  less  than  it." 

— JONSON'S  "NEW  INN." 

"  Innocence  shall  make 
False  accusations  blush,  and  tyranny 
Tremble  at  patience." 

— SHAKESPEARE'S  "WINTER'S  TALE." 

THE  harsh  strokes  of  fortune,  the  urgency  and  disaster  of  his 
position,  the  defeat  of  his  best  efforts  by  bad  men,  the  coolness 
and  ingratitude  of  his  king,  made  Columbus  exert  himself  the 
more  for  the  restoration  of  order  and  good  government  in  His- 
paniola,  and  for  the  promotion  of  the  honor  and  profit  of  his 
country  and  his  sovereigns.  Galling  and  excruciating  as  was  his 
task,  he  bore  himself  with  equanimity,  patience,  and  wisdom. 
But  his  career  of  loyalty  was  beset  with  appalling  difficulties. 

Roldan  was  installed  in  his  office  of  Alcalde  Mayor  on  Novem 
ber  5th,  1499.  Instead  of  carrying  his  stipulations  into  effect  by 
supporting  the  authority  of  the  admiral,  he  did  all  in  his  power 
to  weaken  his  authority  and  insult  him.  Stalking  through  the 
streets  of  San  Domingo  with  arrogance,  and  surrounded  by 
rebels  and  disloyal  people,  he  endeavored  to  win  the  loyal  to  his 
cause.  He  dismissed  Rodrigo  Perez  as  lieutenant  to  the  Alcalde 
Mayor,  because  the  admiral  had  appointed  him  ;  and  he  and  his 
companions  proudly  asserted  that  they  had  crushed  the  tyranny 
of  Columbus  and  his  brothers,  and  they  claimed  and  received 
from  many  the  honors  paid  only  to  heroes.  Roldan  presented 
a  petition  of  one  hundred  rebels  asking  for  lands  in  their  favorite 
province  of  Xaragua,  and  the  admiral,  in  granting  their  request, 
had  the  address  to  persuade  them  to  accept  land  in  different 
parts  of  the  country,  thus  wishing  to  scatter  rather  than  concen- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  407 

trate  the  disloyal.  In  order  to  promote  habits  and  methods  of 
industry  among  them,  and  assist  them  on  their  farms,  he  liber 
ated  the  Indians  in  their  vicinities  from  the  payment  of  the 
tribute,  and  arranged  with  the  caciques  in  lieu  thereof  to  give 
these  Spaniards  a  certain  number  of  Indians  to  till  their  lands  for 
them.  To  deal  with  such  worthless  and  reckless  men  required 
the  most  mature  and  consummate  management,  and  even  then 
the  wisest  measures  are  liable  to  be  turned  into  the  most  unsuc 
cessful  by  the  wilfulness  and  crimes  of  the  objects  of  one's  solici 
tude  and  generosity.  Such  was  the  case  in  this  important  in 
stance. 

In  his  desire  to  scatter  the  late  rebels,  so  as  to  prevent  their 
concentration  in  case  of  further  outbreaks,  he  managed  to  place 
them  on  lands  granted  to  them  in  different  parts  of  the  island  : 
some  at  Bonao,  some  on  the  Rio  Verde  in  the  Royal  Vega,  and 
others  at  St.  Jago.  With  the  lands  given  he  assigned  to  them 
a  liberal  number  of  Indian  prisoners  of  war.  The  original  design 
of  the  admiral  was  to  introduce  in  Hispaniola  a  paternal  govern 
ment,  in  which  the  Indians  would  be  received  as  docile  subjects 
-of  the  crown,  and  led  by  zealous  missionaries  and  the  good  ex 
amples  of  the  Christians  to  embrace  the  faith  ;  but  the  crimes 
and  vices  of  the  white  men,  their  lusts  and  covetousness,  their 
cruelties  to  the  natives,  and  their  disloyalty  to  the  government 
frustrated  all  his  purposes.  Insurrections  among  the  oppressed 
natives  and  rebellions  among  the  Spaniards  changed  the  whole 
policy  of  his  administration.  Forced  by  such  unwelcome  but 
irresistible  circumstances,  he  fell  in  with  the  notions  of  the  age 
and  of  the  continental  nations  ;  reduced  the  natives  to  a  form  of 
subjection  by  force,  and  now  regarded  and  handled  them  as  a 
conquered  race,  and  their  country  and  its  lands  as  spoils  of  the 
conquerors.  Tribute  had  been  exacted  of  the  natives,  their 
lands  were  given  to  the  conquerors,  and  the  prisoners  of  war 
were  condemned  to  a  service  well  calculated  to  lead  to  their 
enslavement.  The  enslavement  of  Indian  prisoners  of  war 
seemed  to  lead  to  the  servitude  of  free  Indians  to  their  Spanish 
conquerors.  The  placing  of  certain  numbers  of  Indians  in  the 
service  of  the  rebels  and  of  other  Spaniards  for  the  purpose  of 
tilling  their  lands  was  practically  a  reduction  of  the  native  race 
to  the  condition  of  servitude  ;  but  it  was  not  personal  slavery. 
Columbus  was  not  the  author  of  that  system  of  slavery  which 


408  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

was  afterward  introduced  under  Bobadilla  and  Ovando,  under 
the  name  of  repartimientos,  and  which  became  generally  intro 
duced  throughout  the  Spanish  colonies  and  conquered  countries. 
By  that  system  free  Indians  were  made  the  slaves  in  fact  though 
not  in  name  of  the  Spanish  colonists.  In  establishing  his  own 
disastrous  system,  so  foreign  to  his  own  wishes  and  so  alien  to- 
his  own  mild,  just,  and  generous  nature,  Columbus  endeavored 
to  impress  order  and  system  upon  it,  and  for  this  purpose  he 
appointed  an  armed  police  force,  each  section  being  placed  under 
a  military  captain,  who  patrolled  the  provinces,  compelled  the 
Indians  to  pay  the  tribute,  checked  the  conduct  of  the  colonists, 
and  suppressed  the  first  germs  of  rebellion  or  uprising. 

While  De  Lorgues,  the  enthusiastic  eulogist  of  Columbus, 
passes  over  or  refers  but  slightly  to  such  events  in  his  adminis 
tration,  the  voice  of  history,  while  condemning  the  system  itself, 
has  with  just  discrimination  referred  this  measure  rather  to  the 
necessities  of  his  position  and  the  prevailing  methods  of  the  age 
than  to  the  voluntary  action  of  the  admiral.  Mr.  Irving  says  : 
'  This  was  an  arrangement  widely  different  from  his  original 
intention  of  treating  the  natives  with  kindness,  as  peaceful  sub 
jects  of  the  crown.  But  all  his  plans  had  been  subverted,  and 
his  present  measures  forced  upon  him  by  the  exigencies  of  the 
times  and  the  violence  of  lawless  men."  And  the  learned  and 
discreet  Tarducci  writes  :  "  The  first  intention  of  Columbus  in 
regard  to  the  Indians  was,  as  we  saw,  that  of  an  affectionate 
father  toward  his  children,  and  all  his  hopes  and  desires  were 
directed  to  making  of  them  good  and  peaceful  subjects  of  the 
Catholic  sovereigns,  and  fervent  followers  of  the  law  of  Christ. 
But  the  violent  and  licentious  conduct  of  most  of  his  companions, 
the  revolts  of  the  natives,  the  necessity  of  making  up  for.  the 
want  of  hands  and  of  victuals,  and  other  disasters  which  befell 
him,  forced  his  hand,  and  dragged  him  into  the  ideas  of  his 
time,  which  looked  on  discoveries  of  infidel  lands  in  the  light  of 
conquests,  and  gave  the  conqueror  absolute  dominion  over  per 
son  and  property." 

Even  then,  as  it  originated  from  his  hands,  the  measure  was 
not  necessarily  cruel  or  oppressive,  for  he  endeavored  to  temper 
it  with  mercy  and  regulate  it  with  justice  ;  and  had  it  been  prac 
tised  by  the  colonists  in  this  same  spirit,  it  would  have  resulted 
in  the  civilization  of  the  Indians  by  accustoming  them  to  lives  of 


ON   COLUMBUS.  409 

regular  and  systematic  industry  and  husbandry  ;  whereas,  in  the 
hands  of  merciless  and  avaricious  men,  of  inhuman  and  cruel 
masters,  it  became,  under  his  successors,  one  of  the  worst  forms 
of  human  slavery,  and  resulted  in  the  disastrous  extermination 
of  the  native  race.* 

But  the  leading  rebel,  Roldan  himself,  made  more  ample  and 
extraordinary  demands  on  the  liberality  of  the  admiral.  Among 
the  princely  concessions  made  to  this  bold  and  reckless  adven 
turer,  the  representative  rather  of  the  remorseless  buccaneers  of 
past  ages  than  of  the  Christian  colonist  of  the  age  of  Columbus, 
may  be  mentioned  valuable  lands  near  the  city  of  Isabella,  which 
he  pretended  to  claim  by  a  title  anterior  to  his  rebellion  ;  also  a 
royal  holding  or  farm,  in  the  Vega,  called  La  Lesperanza,  an 
estate  devoted  to  the  raising  of  all  kinds  of  poultry,  the  right 
to  use  the  cattle  on  the  royal  or  crown  lands  for  the  cultivation 
of  his  own  farms,  and  finally  the  grant  of  extensive  lands  in 
Xaragua.  In  making  these  concessions  to  this  grasping  outlaw, 
the  admiral  subjected  them  to  the  condition  of  the  pleasure  of 
the  crown  when  heard  from  ;  for  he  still  hoped  that  the  revela 
tion  to  the  crown  of  the  circumstances  under  which  he  was 
forced  -to  make  such  concessions  to  rebels  would  end  in  their 
punishment  rather  than  in  their  reward  for  their  misdeeds,  and 
in  the  restitution  of  their  ill-gotten  wealth.  Roldan,  more  intent 
on  the  care  of  his  plunder  than  on  the  duties  of  his  office  as 
Alcalde  Mayor,  asked  and  obtained  permission  to  visit  his  vast 
estates.  His  conduct  on  the  way  thither  showed  again  the  arro 
gant  and  lawless  character  of  the  man  ;  for  history  furnishes 
many  instances  of  ruffians  who  were  remarkably  tenacious  of 
official  forms  and  commissions  while  violating  every  principle  of 
legitimate  authority.  On  arriving  at  Bonao,  the  late  rendezvous 
of  the  rebels,  he  appointed  one  of  his  late  confederates,  Pedro 
Requelme,  local  alcalde,  or  judge,  conferring  upon  him  full 
powers  of  arresting  all  offenders  and  sending  them  as  prisoners 
to  Conception,  where  Roldan,  still  exercising  in  mockery  the 


*  Mufloz,  "  Hist.  Nuevo  Mundo,"  lib.  vi.,  §  50;  Fernando  Columbus,  "  Hist,  del 
Almirante,"  cap.  84  ;  Herrera,  decad.  i.,  lib.  Hi.,  cap.  xvi.  ;  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of 
De  Lorgues'  "Columbus,"  pp.  398,  399;  Irving's  "Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii., 
pp.  212-14  I  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii., 
pp.  143-45- 


4IO  OLD    AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

office  of  Alcalde  Mayor,  reserved  to  himself  the  right  of  judg 
ment  and  sentence  over  them.  Scarcely  had  the  admiral  ex 
pressed  his  indignation  at  this  affront  to  his  own  authority,  when 
he  received  from  Pedro  de  Arana,  a  man  of  integrity  and  loy 
alty,  information  that  Requelme,  with  Roldan's  connivance,  was 
erecting  on  a  prominent  site  a  strong  building,  so  constructed 
as  to  serve  as  a  fortress  in  case  of  need  in  any  future  disorders 
of  the  rebels.  Columbus,  on  hearing  the  case,  promptly  and 
peremptorily  prohibited  Requelme  from  proceeding  with  his 
rebellious  and  well-understood  designs  and  plans. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  two  caravels  intended  for  the  passage  to 
Spain  were  gotten  ready,  and  all  who  desired  to  return  to  their 
country  were  permitted  to  do  so  by  this  opportunity.  Many  of 
Roldan's  late  confederates  returned  on  the  ships,  carrying  with 
them  not  only  slaves,  but  also  the  unfortunate  daughters  of 
caciques,  whom  they  had  seduced  to  leave  their  homes  and  coun 
try,  or  perhaps  seized  by  force  for  the  most  degrading  purposes. 
While  his  generous  feelings  were  outraged  by  these  and  many 
other  such  proceedings,  the  admiral  found  it  prudent  if  not 
necessary  to  take  no  notice  of  them,  for  fear  of  bringing  on  a 
renewal  of  greater  crimes.  As  it  was,  he  felt  that  he  was  send 
ing  home  recruits  for  the  already  augmented  ranks  of  his  own 
slanderers  and  revilers  at  court.  It  had  been  the  intention  of 
the  admiral  to  embark  for  Spain  in  one  of  these  vessels,  together 
with  his  brother,  Don  Bartholomew  ;  for  his  presence  there 
seemed  most  important  in  order  to  refute  the  calumnies  of  his 
enemies  and  sustain  at  court  his  own  cause  and  that  of  the  new 
world.  But  how  could  he  leave  Hispaniola  in  its  present  peril 
ous  condition,  when  the  government  was  not  yet  secure  from 
the  machinations  of  rebels  ;  when  rumors  were  reaching  him  of 
a  threatened  descent  of  the  mountaineers  of  Ciguay  upon  the 
Vega  to  rescue  the  imprisoned  Mayobanex,  their  chief,  then  in 
the  fortress  of  Conception  ;  when  news  also  had  just  been  re 
ceived  by  him  of  the  arrival  off  the  western  coast  of  the  island  of 
four  unknown  and  suspicious-looking  ships  ?  His  fate  seemed 
to  chain  him  to  this,  the  first  yet  disastrous  offspring  of  the 
colonial  policy  he  was  struggling  to  found  for  the  glory  and 
profit  of  his  country  and  his  sovereigns.  In  his  place,  and  for 
the  purpose  of  conveying  to  the  court  a  true  account  of  the  past 
and  present  condition  of  Hispaniola,  and  of  refuting  the  calum- 


ON   COLUMBUS. 


411 


iiies  of  his  enemies,  he  sent  out  on  the  ships  his  ever-faithful  and 
loyal  aids,  Miguel  Ballester  and  Garcia  de  Barrantes. 

The  admiral  also  sent  out  by  this  opportunity  important  letters 
to  the  sovereigns,  in  which  he  gave  for  the  second  time  a  detailed 
account  of  the  late  rebellion,  and  contended,  for  his  own  honor 
and  for  the  honor  of  the  crown,  that  the  late  capitulations 
between  him  and  the  rebels  were  in  fact  and  by  right  of  no  bind 
ing  force.  He  gave  his  reasons  for  this  statement  in  the  fact  that 
he  yielded  to  duress  in  accepting  and  signing  them  ;  that  it  was 
done  at  sea,  where  he  was  admiral  but  not  viceroy  ;  that  the 
rebels  having  been  twice  on  due  trial  condemned  as  traitors,  his 
pardoning  power  did  not  extend  to  such  cases  ;  that  the  terms  of 
the  capitulations  embraced  the  disposal  of  matters  of  the  royal 
revenue,  reserved  to  the  crown  or  its  proper  representatives, 
and  because  Roldan  and  his  followers  were  outlawed  by  the 
violation  of  their  oaths  of  obedience  to  the  sovereigns  and 
to  himself.  For  these  and  many  other  reasons  he  requested 
the  sovereigns  to  review  the  case  and  annul  the  iniquitous 
terms  wrested  from  him  by  force  and  against  his  will.  In  these 
important  dispatches  Columbus  renewed  his  former  recom 
mendations  for  the  dispatch  of  a  judge  learned  in  the  law  to 
administer  and  enforce  the  law  in  so  turbulent  a  community  ; 
also  for  the  appointment  of  a  council  of  discreet  persons,  and  of 
officers  of  the  revenues,  cautioning  the  sovereigns  most  strenu 
ously  against  any  infringement  of  his  own  rights  and  dignities  ; 
and  he  requested  that  his  son,  Don  Diego  Columbus,  should  be 
sent  to  him,  to  assist  him  in  the  administration  in  his  declining 
years  and  impaired  health.  Looking  to  the  maintenance  of  his 
heirs  forever  in  the  important  duties  and  honorable  preroga 
tives  of  the  high  hereditary  offices  he  held,  this  was  a  grave  and 
prudent  step  toward  the  education  of  the  first  heir  of  his  offices, 
titles,  and  estates,  for  the  important  career  which  he  had  marked 
out  for  himself  and  his  family. 

Before  the  departure  of  the  ships  bearing  the  protest  of  Colum 
bus  against  any  infringements  of  his  privileges,  dignities,  and 
jurisdiction  by  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  four  suspicious-looking 
vessels  had  been  seen  to  enter  the  little  harbor  of  Jacquemel,  on 
the  western  coast  of  Hispaniola.  It  soon  transpired  that  the 
commander  of  this  fleet  was  no  other  than  Alonzo  de  Ojeda, 
who,  as  we  have  seen,  distinguished  himself  in  the  service  of 


412  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

Columbus,  and  had  received  great  favors  and  distinctions  from 
him,  now  seduced  from  his  loyalty  by  the  patronage  and  tempta 
tions  of  Fonseca,  and  actually  bearing  a  commission  in  direct  vio 
lation  of  the  rights  and  concessions  made  to  Columbus  by  Ferdi 
nand  and  Isabella  in  the  most  solemn  manner.  Ojeda  had  already 
visited  the  coast  of  Paria  and  the  Gulf  of  Pearls  ;  he  had  sailed 
through  the  Gulf  of  Paria,  the  Dragon's  Mouth,  coasted  along 
the  Cape  de  la  Vera,  visited  the  island  of  Margarita,  discovered  the 
Gulf  of  Venezuela,  and  had  landed  on  the  Caribbean  Island,  carry 
ing  off  pearls  and  gold  from  Paria  and  Indians  captured  in  battle 
from  the  Caribs,  whom  he  intended  to  sell  as  slaves  in  the 
Spanish  markets.  Being  in  want  of  provisions,  the  fleet  sailed 
for  Hispaniola,  after  having  made  the  most  extensive  voyage  of 
discovery  at  that  time  accomplished  in  the  Western  Hemisphere. 

There  was  another  distinguishing  feature  in  this  expedition, 
for  besides  many  prominent  and  skilled  pilots,  navigators,  and 
adventurers  on  board  the  ships  of  Ojeda,  there  was  among  them 
the  man  who  afterward  gave  his  name  to  the  American  Conti 
nent,  a  merchant  of  Florence,  skilled  in  geography  and  naviga 
tion,  Americus  Vespucius.  Although  Ojeda  had  received  from 
the  lifelong  enemy  of  Columbus  and  of  all  great  American  dis 
coverers  and  explorers,  Bishop  Fonseca,  a  commission  granting 
him  the  privilege  of  making  such  a  voyage  to  the  new  world,  he 
was  in  fact  nothing  more  than  a  freebooter  and  a  pirate.  Fonseca 
had  treacherously  furnished  him  with  copies  of  the  admiral's 
charts  and  papers,  a  license  signed  by  himself  alone,  and  so 
craftily  worded  as  to  allow  his  visiting  any  of  the  lands  discov 
ered  by  Columbus  subsequent  to  1495,  thus  including  in  his 
license  the  newly  discovered  regions  of  Paria.  Ojeda  was  also 
bolstered  up  with  information  imparted  to  him  by  Fonseca  as  to 
the  admiral's  present  embarrassments,  the  jealousy  of  the  king, 
and  the  confidently  expected  downfall  of  the  admiral. 

Unfortunately  for  the  latter,  his  stout  and  vigorous  brother, 
Don  Bartholomew,  had  departed  from  San  Domingo  with  all 
the  forces  available  for  the  distant  regions  of  Ciguay,  for  the 
purpose  of  quelling  a  threatened  revolt  of  the  natives,  for  the 
Adelantado  would  have  been  the  most  trusty  and  the  ablest 
leader  to  send  to  meet  Ojeda.  Though  it  was  a  risky  measure, 
he  now  selected  Roldan  himself  for  this  delicate  and  important 
task,  trusting  to  his  interests  and  his  ambition,  as  well  as  to  his 


OX    COLUMBUS.  413 

love  of  renown,  as  incentives  to  his  fidelity.  His  boldness, 
ability,  and  experience  were  well  known.  By  reason  of  his  large 
estates  on  the  island  he  had  become  interested  in  the  maintenance 
of  peace  and  the  security  of  property. 

Roldan  readily  undertook  the  work  so  generously  assigned  to 
him  by  the  admiral.  The  encounter  between  two  such  reckless 
men  as  Roldan  and  Ojeda  was  characteristic  and  interesting. 
Embarking  in  two  caravels  with  the  forces  placed  at  his  disposal 
by  Columbus,  and  arriving  on  September  2Qth  within  two  leagues 
of  the  harbor  of  Jacquemel,  he  landed  at  the  head  of  twenty-five 
picked,  experienced,  and  well-armed  soldiers,  and  after  a  recon- 
noissance,  and  ascertaining  that  Ojeda  with  only  fifteen  men  was 
on  the  land  several  leagues  distant  from  his  ship  in  an  Indian 
village,  making  cassava  bread,  he  threw  himself  between  Ojeda 
and  his  ships,  expecting  to  surprise  him.  But  Ojeda  had  word 
of  the  approach  from  Indians,  with  whom  the  name  of  Roldan 
was  opprobrious,  and  with  his  characteristic  boldness  and 
strategy,  seeing  his  retreat  to  the  ships  intercepted,  he  suddenly 
presented  himself  face  to  face  to  Roldan,  attended  by  only  half 
a  dozen  of  his  men.  Roldan  adroitly  opened  the  conversation 
by  alluding  to  general  subjects,  and.  gradually  brought  the  inter 
view  to  an  inquiry  as  to  Ojeda's  motives  in  landing  thus  on  a 
remote  part  of  the  island  and  without  giving  notice  to  the  ad 
miral  of  his  arrival.  Ojeda,  with  equal  coolness,  replied  that  he 
had  been  on  a  voyage  of  discovery,  and  had  been  forced  to  put 
in  at  Jacquemel  for  want  of  provisions  and  for  ship  repairs. 
Roldan  then  demanded  to  see  the  commission  under  which  he 
sailed,  whereupon  Ojeda  calmly  replied  that  his  commission  was 
on  his  ship,  and  on  Roldan's  accompanying  him  to  the  ships  he 
showed  him  his  license,  with  Fonseca's  signature  thereto.  Roldan 
met  on  Ojeda's  ships  a  number  of  persons  whom  he  knew,  and 
these  also  confirmed  Ojeda's  account  of  his  voyage,  as  each  one 
had  some  articles  taken  from  the  places  they  had  visited.  Ojeda 
gave  Roldan  his  assurance  that  he  would  sail  to  San  Domingo 
and  report  to  the  admiral.  The  baffled  Roldan  returned  to  his 
ships  and  sailed  to  San  Domingo. 

Although  Ojeda  had  far  exceeded  his  license  in  his  voyage,  he 
knew  he  could  rely  upon  Bishop  Fonseca's  hatred  for  Columbus 
to  secure  an  easy  endorsement  of  his  course.  In  fact,  he  had 
fitted  out  the  expedition  at  his  own  expense,  and  the  crown  was 


414  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

to  receive  a  fixed  share  of  the  profits.  Isabella  was  then  in  such 
poor  health  that  she  was  unable  to  give  any  attention  to  these  or 
other  public  affairs  ;  but  the  wily  and  selfish  Ferdinand,  ever 
suspicious  and  unsympathetic  with  the  admiral,  either  knew  and 
favored  this  unlawful  voyage,  or  connived  at  it.  In  itself  the  ex 
pedition  possessed  a  practical  and  geographical  importance,  and 
many  skilful  men  were  members  of  it.  Confident  of  his  strength 
at  home,  and  seeing  now  a  field  opening  before  him  for  his  reck 
less  and  daring  enterprise,  he  deceived  Roldan  with  a  false 
promise,  which  he  never  intended  to  keep,  and  then  sailed  to 
Xaragua,  where  he  landed  in  February,  1500,  and  accepted  the 
leadership  of  the  rebels,  a  position  which  these  miscreants  had 
thought  Roldan  had  basely  deserted.  Ojeda  had  now  a  cause 
to  champion  and  defend  ;  he  was  to  right  the  wrongs  of  these 
his  fellow-subjects,  and  to  strike  down  the  despotism  of  Colum 
bus,  whom  the  rebels  accused  of  every  form  of  tyranny  and  in 
justice,  even  the  non-payment  of  their  dues. 

Emboldened  by  his  accession  of  strength,  and  announcing 
that  he  was  chosen  to  advise  or  rather  to  watch  the  admiral,  and 
that  the  loyal  Carvajal  was  united  with  him  in  this  trust,  encour 
aged  by  the  growing  unpopularity  of  Columbus,  sustained  by 
the  chicanery  of  Fonseca  and  by  the  jealousy  of  Ferdinand, 
Ojeda  not  only  raised  his  standard  against  the  admiral,  but  with 
his  characteristic  recklessness  he  proposed  to  march  at  once  on 
San  Domingo  and  compel  the  admiral  to  pay  the  men  at  once, 
or  to  expel  him  from  Hispaniola.  The  proposal  to  march  on 
San  Domingo  led  to  opposition  from  the  timid,  while  it  was 
received  with  applause  by  the  reckless.  A  clash  of  strength  and 
of  arms  among  the  rebels  now  took  place,  resulting  in  bloodshed 
and  several  deaths  ;  but  the  more  desperate  and  brutal  party 
triumphed.  On  to  San  Domingo  was  now  the  battle  cry  of  the 
rebels. 

Cognizant  of  the  desperate  character  of  Ojeda  and  of  his 
treasonable  acts  at  the  head  of  the  new  rebellion  at  Xaragua, 
Columbus  sent  Roldan,  who  had  proved  faithful,  at  least  as  long 
as  it  was  his  interest  to  do  so,  to  his  new  responsibilities,  to 
watch  the  rebels  and  check  them.  On  his  way  to  Xaragua 
Roldan  secured  the  union  of  the  men  then  with  Diego  de  Esco 
bar,  his  former  confederate,  with  his  own,  and  marched  toward 
the  rebel  camp.  He  narrowly  escaped  assassination  by  his- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  415 

former  followers,  no\v  disgusted  by  his  loyalty.  Ojeda,  in  the 
face  of  such  a  force  brought  against  him,  now  for  the  first  time 
in  his  chivalrous  career  avoided  his  foe,  and  prudently  retired 
to  his  ships.  Roldan  and  Ojeda,  each  conscious  of  the  other's 
skill  at  strategy  or  open  war,  tested  each  other's  adroitness  at 
deception  as  well  as  in  manoeuvres.  Ojeda  declined  to  treat 
with  his  wily  adversary,  messengers  passed  between  them,  and 
some  became  prisoners  in  the  effort  to  open  negotiations,  and 
were  held  as  hostages.  When  Ojeda  sailed  twelve  leagues  to 
the  province  of  Cahay,  to  get  provisions  by  plundering  the 
natives,  Roldan  followed  and  forced  him  to  his  ships.  A  strategy 
of  Roldan  gained  him  an  advantage  over  Ojeda,  each  trying  to 
outwit  the  other,  and  Ojeda  lost  his  small  boat  and  its  crew, 
several  of  whom  were  wounded  and  the  others  taken  prisoners 
by  Roldan.  This  last  incident  led  to  a  parley  on  the  water 
between  these  two  cunning  men,  each  in  his  own  small  boat,  and 
after  much  adroit  negotiation  terms  were  agreed  upon  :  the  cap 
tured  boat  was  restored  to  Ojeda,  the  hostages  and  prisoners 
were  exchanged.  Ojeda  agreed  to  sail  from  the  island,  and 
while  sailing  out  threatened  to  return  again  with  a  more  power 
ful  fleet  and  army.  Hearing  that  he  had  again  landed  at  a  dis 
tant  part  of  the  island,  Roldan  again  pursued  Ojeda,  when  the 
latter  finally  sailed  out  to  sea,  and  Hispaniola  was  freed  from  his 
dangerous  machinations.  It  is  related,  however,  that  this  un 
principled  freebooter  afterward  landed  either  in  some  part  of 
Hispaniola  or  perhaps  at  Porto  Rico,  where  he  ruthlessly  seized 
large  gangs  of  the  unhappy  natives  and  carried  them  to  Cadiz, 
where  he  sold  them  as  slaves.* 

To  have  won  Roldan  over  to  the  support  of  his  administration 
and  to  the  defence  of  law  and  order  was  a  master-stroke  of 
policy  on  the  part  of  the  admiral.  In  fact,  but  for  the  fidelity 
of  Roldan  and  the  success  of  his  efforts  it  seems  almost  certain 
that  the  admiral  would  have  wholly  succumbed  under  his  un 
paralleled  trials  and  misfortunes.  The  present  services  of  Rol 
dan,  rendered  probably  from  interested  motives,  would  go  far 
to  atone  for  his  former  atrocities  and  treasons. 


*  Las  Casas.  "  Hist.  Ind.,"  lib.  L,  cap.  clxix.  ;  Fernando  Columbus,  "  His',  del  Al- 
mirante,"  cap.  Ixxxiv.  ;  Irving's  "Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  224-29;  Dr.  Barry's  trans 
lation  of  De  Lorgues'  "Columbus,"  p.  401  et  seq.  ;  Brownson's  translation  of  Tar- 
ducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  154-58. 


416  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

Just  as  the  dawn  began  to  appear  to  the  troubled  vision  of  the 
admiral,  another  storm  burst  with  violence  on  the  horizon  of  his 
saddened  fortunes,  in  the  unlooked-for  conspiracy  of  Guevara 
and  Moxica.  Roldan's  followers  in  the  late  struggle  with  Ojeda, 
being  in  a  great  measure  his  former  confederates  in  rebellion, 
looked  from  the  beginning  for  generous  rewards  for  their  ser 
vices,  and  the  time  had  now  arrived  for  them  to  demand,  as  they 
clamorously  did,  for  a  division  among  themselves  of  the  lands  in 
the  fertile  and  beautiful  province  of  Cahay.  Roldan  was  now  a 
man  of  law  and  order,  and  rather  than  yield  as  he  formerly  did 
to  such  demands,  he  gave  them  lands  of  his  own  in  the  province 
of  Xaragua.  Though  he  requested  permission  to  return  to  San 
Domingo,  he  readily  yielded  obedience  to  the  admiral's  request 
that  he  would  remain  in  Xaragua  to  meet  Ojeda  in  case  of  his 
return  to  the  island. 

Among  the  recent  comers  to  Xaragua  was  Don  Hernando  de 
Guevara,  a  young  nobleman  as  noted  for  his  unbridled  passions 
and  manners  as  for  his  depravity  and  dissoluteness  ;  and  for  the 
latter  qualities  he  had  been  banished  by  the  admiral  from  the 
island.  He  was  a  cousin  of  Adrian  de  Moxica,  one  of  Roldan's 
late  principal  supporters  in  rebellion.  On  his  arriving  too  late  to 
embark  on  one  of  Ojeda's  ships,  Roldan  had  given  him  permis 
sion  to  remain  in  Cahay,  a  favorite  spot  with  the  idle  and  disso 
lute,  and  in  consequence  of  Roldan's  kind  reception  of  him  he 
had  been  received  as  a  visitor  at  the  house  of  Anacaona,  the 
sister  of  the  cacique  Behechio,  who  commanded  the  respect  even 
of  the  most  degraded  Spaniards,  and  who,  in  spite  of  the  mis 
conduct  and  self-degradation  of  the  Spaniards,  still  entertained  a 
friendship  for  the  Spanish  conquerors.  The  visits  of  Guevara 
to  her  house  led  to  a  mutual  attachment  between  him  and  her 
young  and  beautiful  daughter,  Higuenamota.  The  young  Span 
iard  had  chosen  Cahay  as  his  residence  because  of  its  proximity 
to  the  neighboring  province  of  Xaragua,  the  residence  of  his 
lover,  and  there  also  his  Cousin  Moxica  had  an  estate,  where  he 
was  training  dogs  and  hawks  for  hunting.  Roldan  discovered 
the  cause  of  Guevara's  sojourn  here,  and,  as  some  supposed, 
moved  by  jealousy  and  his  own  affection  for  the  Indian  beauty, 
he  ordered  the  young  hidalgo  to  depart  from  Xaragua  to  his 
post  at  Cahay.  Seeking  the  girl  in  marriage,  favored  by  the 
mother,  and  having  had  his  intended  bride  baptized  a  Christian, 


ON   COLUMBUS.  417 

Guevara  disregarded  the  orders  of  Roldan,  and  lingered  on  in 
the  house  of  Anacaona  in  Xaragua.  Upon  further  remonstrance 
and  peremptory  orders  from  Roldan,  and  while  protesting  the 
most  honorable  intentions  and  his  design  to  enter  into  lawful 
wedlock,  he  obeyed  and  left  Xaragua,  and  retired  to  Cahay. 
Three  days  of  absence  from  his  Indian  fiancee  was  too  much  for 
Guevara.  He  returned  to  Xaragua,  and  with  several  of  his 
friends  was  concealed  in  the  house  of  Anacaona,  but  on  discovery 
was  again  ordered  by  Roldan  to  depart.  The  young  cavalier 
now  assumed  a  tone  of  defiance  and  threats,  but  finding  this  did 
not  move  the  stern  Alcalde  Mayor,  he  resorted  to  the  most 
piteous  entreaties,  and  thus  won  the  desired  permission  to  remain 
in  Xaragua  for  the  time. 

Crossed  in  his  love,  and  probably  himself  suspecting  the 
motives  of  Roldan  to  be  those  of  a  disappointed  rival,  Guevara 
laid  plans  for  revenge,  made  up  a  band  of  partisans  from  Roldan's 
late  fellow-rebels,  now  his  bitter  haters,  and  their  plan  was  to 
take  him  by  surprise  and  suddenly  kill  him  or  put  out  his  eyes. 
Roldan  got  word  of  the  plot  and  acted  with  characteristic  vigor 
and  promptness  by  seizing  Guevara  in  Anacaona's  house  in  the 
presence  of  the  expectant  bride,  arresting  seven  of  his  accom 
plices,  and  sending  an  account  of  the  affair  to  the  admiral,  for  he 
now  professed  to  act  in  all  things  only  by  the  admiral's  orders. 
The  latter  ordered  all  the  prisoners  to  be  sent  to  the  fortress  of 
San  Domingo. 

The  unfortunate  island  of  Hispaniola  was  again  fired  with  ex 
citement  and  racked  with  Spanish  sedition.  Moxica,  Requelme, 
and  other  former  rebels  and  companions  of  Roldan,  united  in 
the  most  vehement  appeals  to  all  the  rebellious  elements  of  the 
island,  to  band  together  to  avenge  the  wrongs  of  the  gallant  Gue 
vara  and  of  the  beautiful  Higuenamota.  As  if  by  magic  a  rebel 
battalion  was  formed,  horses,  weapons,  ammunition,  and  all  the 
means  of  war  were  soon  brought  together,  and  now  nothing  less 
than  the  rescue  of  Guevara  and  the  deaths  of  Roldan  and  Colum 
bus  were  proclaimed.  The  latter,  trusting  to  the  men  to  whom 
he  had  forgiven  so  much  and  upon  whom  he  had  bestowed 
such  princely  favors,  would  have  fallen  an  easy  victim  to  their 
rage  but  for  a  timely  word  of  warning  brought  by  a  deserter 
from  the  conspirators,  who  seemed  upon  the  eve  of  carrying 
out  their  plans,  even  to  the  seizure  of  the  government,  the  assas- 


41 8  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

sination  of  Columbus,  and  the  usurpation  of  the  chief  command 
in  lieu  of  the  murdered  admiral.  Both  Columbus  and  Roldan 
acted  with  extreme  rapidity  and  rigor,  for  unless  all  were  saved 
at  once,  all  would  be  lost.  While  Mr.  Irving  states  that  it  was 
the  admiral  who  in  person  struck  the  blow,  De  Lorgues  and 
Tarducci  relate  it  as  having  been  accomplished  in  person  by 
Roldan.  Taking  the  account  of  the  two  latter,  it  is  related  that 
the  ever-vigilant  Roldan,  taking  with  him  a  chosen  and  well- 
armed  few — seven  of  his  own  domestics  and  two  soldiers — fell 
upon  the  unwary  conspirators  suddenly  at  night,  and  captured 
them  all  by  a  single  stroke.  On  receiving  Roldan's  report  of 
the  capture  and  a  request  for  instructions,  the  admiral  answered 
in  characteristic  terms  :  "  I  had  determined  to  hurt  no  one,  but 
his  [Moxica's]  ingratitude  compelled  me  to  alter  this  resolve  ; 
nor  would  I  act  otherwise  with  my  own  brother  if  he  wanted  to 
assassinate  me  and  usurp  the  lordship  which  my  king  and  queen 
had  given  into  my  custody."  Roldan  was  instructed  to  proceed 
with  rigor  against  these  outlaws,  and  to  enforce  the  law,  which 
he  did  without  delay.  Moxica  and  some  of  his  ringleaders  were 
condemned  to  death,  some  were  banished,  and  the  others  were 
sentenced  to  imprisonment.  Of  Roldan,  Tarducci  remarks  that 
his  proceedings  were  conducted  "  with  the  inflexible  vigor  of 
justice  peculiar  to  all  knaves  like  him,  after  escaping  from  the 
penalty  their  own  crimes  deserved,  and  putting  on  the  garb  of 
an  honest  man  ;"  and  the  Count  de  Lorgues  states  that  he  acted 
in  all  things  with  "  deference  for  the  least  desires  of  the  viceroy." 
His  method  of  proceeding  to  execute  the  sentence,  however, 
was  Roldan's,  not  the  admiral's  ;  for  the  latter  was  never  deaf 
to  the  voice  of  mercy,  even  when  dealing  with  the  most  hardened 
criminals. 

When  Moxica  saw  the  scaffold  erected  on  the  fort  for  his  exe 
cution  he  abandoned  his  ruffianism  and  bravado,  lost  all  courage, 
and  was  seized  with  pitiable  fear.  But  with  the  deceitfulness  of 
his  true  self  he  sent  for  a  confessor,  and  by  designedly  prolong 
ing  his  confession,  or,  as  De  Lorgues  says,  by  repulsing  his  con 
fessor,  he  lengthened  his  respite  in  hopes  that  his  sympathizers 
might  rescue  him.  He  even  descended  to  the  cowardly  device 
of  accusing  others.  Finally,  Roldan,  incensed  at  his  cowardice 
and  exasperated  at  his  chicanery,  cut  short  his  confession,  and 
had  him  hung  from  the  battlements  of  the  fort.  De  Lorgues 


ON   COLUMBUS.  419 

states  that  he  "  ordered  the  wretch  to  be  flung  from  the  top  of 
the  fortress  into  the  fosse."  Guevara  was  detained  as  a  prisoner 
for  some  time,  but  was  sent  on  June  i$th  to  the  admiral  at  Fort 
Conception.  While  the  execution  of  the  others  was  delayed,, 
the  sentences  pronounced  were  mostly  executed  with  rigor,  and 
the  conspirators  still  at  large  were  followed  up  by  Roldan,  who  is 
said  to  have  carried  a  priest  with  him  to  confess  the  criminals 
before  death,  and  that  they  were  executed  on  the  very  spot 
where  they  were  caught.  This  account  is  supposed  to  have 
been  exaggerated  by  Roldan 's  enemies,  for  the  tower  contained 
at  one  time  seventeen  awaiting  trial,  while  the  agents  of  the  law 
were  pursuing  the  others  with  unrelenting  severity.  The  de 
tails  of  the  execution  of  the  sentences  are  not  given,  except  in 
the  case  of  Moxica  ;  but  De  Lorgues  states  that  the  sentences 
were  carried  into  effect  by  the  united  and  vigorous  action  of 
Columbus  and  the  then  righteous  Alcalde  Mayor.  It  is  said  of 
the  admiral  by  Mr.  Irving,  "  We  cannot  wonder  that  he  should 
at  last  let  fall  the  sword  of  justice  which  he  had  hitherto  held 
suspended."  * 

Order  and  peace  now  reigned  temporarily  in  the  island  of  His- 
paniola,  but  it  was  the  work  of  fire  and  sword,  of  the  scaffold 
and  the  tower.  The  measures  of  the  admiral  had  proved  effec 
tual,  even  at  the  gloomiest  moment  of  his  life,  for  the  crushing 
out  of  a  series  of  rebellions  as  wicked  and  lawless  as  anything 
related  in  history.  Of  Roldan  it  must  be  said  that  he  proved 
himself  now  the  most  efficient  and  willing  instrument  of  justice. 
The  faction  which  had  so  long  defied  all  law  and  justice  ;  had 
despoiled  and  wronged  the  natives  ;  had  made  a  pandemonium 
of  what  had  but  lately  been  seen  by  the  new-comers  as  an  earthly 
paradise  ;  had  nearly  crushed  the  first  advances  of  civilization 
and  Christianity  in  the  new  world  ;  had  nearly  accomplished  the 
destruction  of  the  discoverer  of  the  Western  Hemisphere,  and 
ruined  his  great  enterprise,  was  now  effectually  broken,  under 


*  See  Herrera,  who,  however,  attributes  erroneously  to  the  admiral  the  more  promi 
nent  part  taken  by  Roldan  in  these  transactions  ;  Fernando  Columbus,  "  Hist,  del 
Almirante,"  cap.  84.  In  his  letter  to  the  governess  of  Prince  Juan,  the  admiral  him 
self  says  :  "  The  Alcalde  seized  him,  [Moxica]  and  a  part  of  his  band,  and  the  fact  is, 
he  did  justice  on  them  without  my  having  ordered  it."  Brownson's  translation  of 
Tarducci's  "Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  158-64  ;  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  230- 
38  ;  Barry's  translation  of  De  Lorgues'  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  p.  404. 


4-O  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

the  vigorous  administration  of  Columbus.  Results  now  began 
to  bear  their  fruits.  The  Spanish  power  and  the  authority  of 
the  admiral  were  now  universally  recognized  and  obeyed.  The 
Indians,  whose  outbreaks  had  been  instigated  by  the  basest  of 
the  white  men,  now  became  docile  and  submissive,  gave  evi 
dences  of  their  capacity  to  receive  civilization  by  pursuing  the 
peaceful  labors  of  agriculture,  by  wearing  clothes  to  cover  their 
nakedness,  and  by  willingly  assisting  the  Spaniards  in  the  culti 
vation  of  the  soil  and  other  industries. 

During  this  scathing  ordeal  of  adversity,  disaster,  danger,  and 
humiliation  Columbus  passed  through  one  of  those  mental  and 
moral  crises  which,  while  exhibiting  the  weakness  of  a  noble 
and  brave  nature,  proves  the  faith  of  the  man  in  God,  and  brings 
to  light  the  profound  religious  caste  of  the  admiral's  character. 
In  December,  when  his  fortunes  were  at  their  lowest  ebb,  dis 
trustful  of  the  fidelity  of  Roldan,  in  whom  he  was  compelled  to 
trust,  and  consequently  in  whose  power  he  was,  harassed  by 
the  general  prevalence  of  disloyalty  and  treason  among  his  own 
colonists,  alarmed  at  the  descent  of  Ojeda  upon  Hispaniola  and 
his  union  with  Roldan's  former  confederates,  constantly  disturbed 
by  reports  of  Indian  insurrections,  and  in  daily  apprehension  of 
assassination  ;  when  he  felt  that  he  was  abandoned  by  fortune, 
alone  in  a  wilderness,  aged,  infirm,  and  deserted  by  men,  he 
sank  beneath  the  load  of  his  misfortunes.  He  could  not  even 
turn  to  his  own  sovereigns,  whom  he  had  so  nobly  served  and 
honored,  for  Isabella  was  sinking  in  health,  and  Ferdinand  had 
been  cold,  distrustful,  and  now  almost  malevolent,  even  in  the 
midst  of  his  chilling  politeness  ;  nor  could  he  turn  to  his  adopted 
country,  for  his  enemies  had  covered  his  name  with  opprobrium 
and  dishonor  ;  nor  could  he  find  solace  in  even  seeking  protec 
tion  with  those  poor  Indians  whom  his  enemies  had  exasperated 
against  him  and  made  his  enemies,  and  who,  scandalized  by  the 
vices  of  the  Christians,  had  turned  away  from  the  religion  which 
might  have  saved  them.  In  his  despondency  this  strong  man 
sank  down  with  a  mortal  fear — he  seemed  for  the  moment  to 
loathe  mankind.  The  instinct  of  self-preservation,  induced  by 
the  constant  fear  of  assassination,  took  possession  of  his  mind  ; 
the  brave  man,  who  had  faced  every  danger  on  land  and  sea,  now 
became  overcome  with  fear.  He  resolved  to  fly  from  men,  to 
cast  himself  with  his  brothers  into  a  caravel,  and  to  take  refuge 


ON   COLUMBUS.  421 

on  the  ocean  which  he  loved,  from  his  enemies  who  so  hated 
him.  It  is  not  related  that  any  definite  plan  or  place  of  destina 
tion  had  taken  shape  in  his  mind.  It  would  seem  that  he  thought 
only  of  casting  himself  into  the  arms  of  Providence. 

The  profoundly  religious  character  of  Columbus,  in  this  peril 
ous  crisis  of  his  life,  was  his  only  source  of  reviving  hope,  and 
restored  his  confidence.  He  related  in  his  own  fervid  words 
this  singular  incident  in  his  life,  and  in  this,  as  in  other  similar 
and  remarkable  occurrences,  he  regarded  his  mental  and  moral 
resurrection  as  a  miracle.  In  his  letter  to  the  governess  of 
Prince  Juan  he  writes  :  "  On  Christmas  Day  (1499),  being  in 
utter  anguish  from  the  torments  caused  me  by  the  wicked  Chris 
tians  and  the  Indians,  and  on  the  point  of  abandoning  everything 
to  save  my  life,  if  possible,  God  our  Lord  comforted  me  by  say 
ing  miraculously,  '  Take  courage,  yield  not  to  sadness  or  fear  ; 
I  will  care  for  everything.  The  seven  years  of  the  term  of  gold 
are  not  yet  expired,  and  for  that  and  all  else  I  am  able  to  pro 
vide.'  .  .  .  That  same  day  I  learned  there  were  eighty 
leagues  of  the  soil  in  which  gold  mines  were  found  at  every 
step,  so  that  they  seemed  to  form  a  single  mine."  After  again 
repeating  the  account  of  his  extreme  dejection  and  miraculous 
relief,  he  explains  or  relates  the  vow  he  had  taken,  that  on  dis 
covering  the  new  world  he  would,  within  seven  years,  from  the 
profits  and  revenues  of  his  discoveries,  fit  out  fifty  thousand 
infantry  and  five  thousand  cavalry  for  the  deliverance  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre,  and  the  same  number  within  the  next  five 
years.  This  explains  the  term  "  the  seven  years  of  the  term  of 
gold."  He  now,  at  this  critical  moment,  also  received  con 
firmation  of  the  trustworthiness  of  Roldan,  and  heard  of  the  dis 
covery  of  the  new  gold  mines.  Followed  as  these  good  tidings 
were  by  the  favorable  reports  of  peace  and  good  order  prevail 
ing  throughout  the  island,  this  devout  Christian  began  to  re 
prove  himself  for  doubting  for  a  moment  that  Providence  would 
take  care  of  him,  even  by  a  miracle.  In  the  midst  of  his  joy  he 
felt  remorse  at  his  doubts,  and  he  relates  that  he  heard  a  voice 
within  him  saying,  "  O  man  of  little  faith,  take  heart  ;  what 
dost  thou  fear  when  I  am  with  thee  !"  * 


*  Fernando  Columbus,  "  Hist,  del  Almirante,"  cap.  Ixxxvi.  ;  letter  to  the  governess 
of  Prince  Juan  ;  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  p.  401  ;  Irving's 


422  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

Little  did  the  man  then  anticipate  that  his  joy  would  be  soon 
followed  by  the  most  severe  trials,  humiliations,  and  wrongs  of 
his  checkered  and  eventful  life. 

While  all  the  disloyal,  turbulent,  criminal,  and  rebellious  ele 
ments  in  Hispaniola  were  struggling  to  overthrow  his  authority, 
to  wrest  the  first  American  colonial  establishment  from  his  hands, 
and  to  destroy  even  his  life,  the  envious  elements  in  official  and 
private  life  in  Spain  were  banded  together  in  an  effort  to  blacken 
his  reputation,  to  discredit  his  achievements  and  enterprises,  to 
undervalue  his  services,  and  to  multiply  accusations  against 
him.  His  enemies  played  upon  the  king's  needs  and  his  avarice 
by  representing  the  admiral's  accounts  of  the  wealth  of  the  new 
countries  as  exaggerated  and  false.  Every  vessel  that  returned 
from  the  newly  discovered  "  Ophir  of  Solomon"  brought  fresh 
demands  for  money,  provisions,  and  outfits  of  every  kind,  instead 
of  being  freighted  with  gold,  merchandise,  precious  stones, 
and  spices.  The  admiral  and  his  brothers  were  represented  as 
unused  to  govern  others  or  administer  affairs,  were  upstart  for 
eigners,  now  elated  with  power  and  fortune.  They  were  ac 
cused  of  being  disloyal,  and  even  the  report  was  circulated  that 
the  admiral  and  his  brothers  were  looking  around  for  some 
powerful  nation  or  prince  as  an  ally,  intending  to  discard  the 
Spanish  sovereigns  and  the  Spanish  nation,  and  proclaim  the 
admiral  to  be  the  independent  sovereign,  in  his  own  right,  of 
the  countries  he  had  discovered.  The  charges  of  cruelty  to  the 
natives,  of  arrogance  toward  the  Spaniards,  and  incompetency 
to  rule  were  apparently  confirmed  by  the  distorted  and  prej 
udiced  accounts  of  the  disappointed,  sick,  or  criminal  colonists 
returning  by  every  ship,  and  by  the  letters  received  from  the 
same  classes  remaining  in  Hispaniola.  These  unfortunate  creat 
ures,  who  had  returned  to  Spain  bearing  the  curse  of  their  own 
crimes,  passions,  and  lawlessness,  were  encouraged  by  persons 
in  higher  positions  and  in  official  stations  to  flock  to  Granada,  to 
besiege  the  king  with  their  lamentations  whenever  he  appeared 
in  public,  and  even  to  invade  the  halls  of  the  Alhambra  with 
accusations  against  the  admiral.  They  petitioned  the  king  to 
pay  them  their  just  dues,  withheld,  as  they  said,  by  Columbus. 


"Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  237;  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "Life  of  Colum 
bus,"  vol.  ii..  pp.  150,  151. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  423 

A  band  of  fifty  of  these  malcontents  made  their  way  into  the 
inner  court  of  the  palace,  and  crowding  under  the  royal  apart 
ments  piteously  held  up  in  their  hands  bunches  of  grapes  as  the 
only  food  left  to  men  who  had  crossed  the  ocean  and  returned 
in  the  service  of  the  crown.  The  criminal  and  vicious  of  the 
population,  and  the  worst  of  the  late  rebels  under  Roldan  and 
Ojeda,  were  the  most  clamorous.  Even  the  sons  of  Columbus, 
pages  at  court,  as  they  passed  one  day  out  of  the  palace  were 
followed  with  jeers  and  imprecations,  and  the  mob  greeted  their 
ears  with  the  exclamation  :  "  Look  at  those  whelps,  the  sons  of 
the  admiral,  of  him  who  discovered  the  land  of  vanity  and 
delusion,  the  grave  of  Spanish  gentlemen  !" 

It  was  in  vain  that  Columbus  wrote  by  each  returning  ship 
true  and  detailed  accounts  of  the  affairs  of  Hispaniola.  In  vain 
his  frank  and  energetic  letters  traced  the  causes  of  disorder, 
misfortune,  and  distress  to  their  true  sources,  the  very  vices, 
misconduct,  and  crimes  of  these  miscreants  now  playing  the  r6le 
of  his  victims.  In  vain  the  defender  of  Spanish  dominion  in  the 
new  world  pointed  out  the  true  evils  existing  in  Hispaniola,  and 
lucidly  suggested  the  remedies.  His  letters  arrived  at  long 
intervals,  while  his  enemies  were  there  on  the  spot,  incessantly 
clamoring  against  him,  and  their  ranks  were  constantly  increas 
ing  by  new  arrivals  of  his  enemies  from  Hispaniola.  Ferdinand 
was  only  too  much  inclined  to  listen  to  such  calumnies  ;  for  while 
his  jealous  nature  failed  to  appreciate  the  great  discovery,  he 
regretted  the  bestowal  of  the  title  of  viceroy  upon  Columbus, 
and  never  addressed  or  spoke  of  him  otherwise  than  as  admiral ; 
he  felt  the  pinching  effects  of  the  constant  demands  of  the  colony 
upon  his  exchequer,  already  depleted  by  his  ambitious  and  selfish 
schemes,  and  did  not  conceal  his  disappointment  at  the  small  re 
turns  of  gold  from  the  new  world.  Nor  could  so  skilful  a  dis 
simulator  refrain  from  betraying  his  distrust,  even  his  hostility 
to  Columbus.  The  just  and  friendly  mind  of  Isabella  became 
influenced,  in  spite  of  her  uprightness  and  generosity  of  charac 
ter,  unconsciously  by  the  unceasing  clamor  and  complaints 
against  the  true  supporter  of  the  honor  of  Spain.  She  never 
abandoned  him  or  his  cause,  but  she  could  not  overcome  the 
unfavorable  influences  of  such  universal  discontents  and  accusa 
tions.  How  could  so  much  be  alleged,  and  by  so  many  mouths, 
unless  there  was  some  foundation  for  it  !  She  was  as  much  dis- 


424  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

tressed  as  she  was  disconcerted.  Even  the  letters  of  Columbus, 
himself  drew  a  most  lamentable  picture  of  the  condition  of  His- 
paniola.  Did  not  that  of  itself  argue  a  want  of  success,  if  not  a 
want  of  ability,  for  conducting  its  government  and  administra 
tion  ?  The  sight  of  the  poor  natives,  men  and  women,  children 
and  young  girls,  some  of  the  last  the  daughters  of  caciques, 
moved  her  noble  heart  to  sympathy  and  indignation  ;  and 
although  these  had  been  seduced  away  from  their  homes  by  the 
ruffians  to  whom  Columbus  was  forced  by  prudence  and  neces 
sity  to  give  permission  to  return  to  Spain,  others  carried  away 
clandestinely,  and  only  a  few  had  been  given  by  him  to  those 
rebels  under  the  terms  of  capitulation  in  order  to  secure  peace 
to  the  distracted  island,  all  were  represented  as  gifts  or  transfers 
made  by  the  admiral,  and  his  conduct  in  this  was  colored  with 
the  most  repulsive  hues.  And  though  his  letters  gave  a  true 
and  quite  different  account  of  the  affair,  still  the  tale  of  betrayal, 
misery,  suffering,  and  love  of  lost  homes  was  too  much  for  the 
tender  heart  of  Isabella.  Her  noblest  feelings  were  moved  when 
she  learned  that  some  of  these  innocent  and  injured  victims  of 
remorseless  passions  and  cruelty  were  pregnant,  and  others  bear 
ing  newly  born  infants  in  their  arms,  and  she  indignantly  and  sor 
rowfully  exclaimed,  "  What  power  has  the  admiral  to  give  away 
my  vassals  ?"  This  generous  queen  and  noble  woman  instantly 
commanded  all  the  poor  Indians  to  be  returned  to  their  country 
and  homes,  both  those  recently  as  well  as  those  formerly  sent  from 
the  islands  to  Spain.  The  real  enslavers  of  the  Indians  seemed 
not  only  to  escape,  but  even  to  carry  their  measures.  Fortune 
seemed  to  favor  them  and  to  frown  upon  Columbus.  At  this  critical 
juncture,  as  we  have  seen  already  that  tribute  and  labor  as  a  meas 
ure  of  State  policy  and  necessity,  sanctioned  by  the  sentiments  and 
customs  of  the  age  and  country,  had  been  adopted  in  Hispaniola, 
so  now  unfortunately  a  letter  was  received  from  him  recommend 
ing  the  continuance  of  Indian  bondage  for  some  time  to  come  as 
promotive  of  the  development  of  the  colony.  This  letter,  taken 
in  conjunction  with  the  instances  of  enslavement  before  her  eyes, 
decided  the  indignant  queen  to  unite  in  decreeing  and  carrying 
out  the  measures  which  the  king  and  the  enemies  of  the  admiral 
were  now  designing.  At  this  juncture  in  the  sad  career  of  the 
discoverer  there  were  not  wanting  enemies  in  the  higher  and 
more  enlightened  walks  of  life  to  aid  and  abet  in  this  unworthy 


ON   COLUMBUS.  425 

warfare  the  malice  of  rebels,  murderers,  seducers,  and  conspira 
tors.  Shameful  it  is  that  history  is  obliged  to  record  among 
these  enemies  and  revilers  of  Columbus  two  persons  whose 
influence  should  have  been  thrown  on  the  side  of  truth,  justice, 
and  mercy,  such  men  as  Father  Boil  and  Bishop  Fonseca. 
They  certainly  did  not  thus  serve  the  good  Master  whose  mission 
they  professed  to  execute.  Among  all  historians,  whether  lay 
or  ecclesiastic,  there  is  not  a  voice  raised  except  in  their  con 
demnation. 

There  is  no  one  of  the  distinguished  characters  who  figured 
prominently  in  the  discovery  of  America  that  had  a  more  brill 
iant  opportunity  of  inscribing  his  name  and  his  fame  on  the 
choicest  pages  of  history  than  King  Ferdinand.  But  he  faltered 
and  failed,  abandoned,  and  then  betrayed  the  most  illustrious 
personage  in  this  great  drama.  Columbus  and  Isabella  will  ever 
receive  the  applause  of  the  world  and  of  posterity,  but  the  de 
fault  of  Ferdinand  has  broken  up  an  illustrious  triumvirate. 
There  are  two  peerless  characters  in  this  great  event  :  Colum 
bus,  the  discoverer,  and  Isabella,  his  generous  patroness  ;  but 
others  participated  in  their  glory  in  various  degrees. 

King  Ferdinand  from  the  beginning  acted  from  avaricious, 
selfish,  jealous,  and  distrustful  motives  in  these  great  events. 
If  in  the  beginning  he  seemed  to  act  like  a  prince,  it  was  only 
the  reflected  royalty  and  generosity  of  Isabella.  Columbus 
essayed  the  discovery  of  a  new  world,  the  redemption  of  the 
Hoi)'  Land,  and  the  erection  of  a  new  Christendom.  He  stands 
forth  an  exalted  character  ;  his  misfortunes  add  grandeur  to  his 
career  and  win  the  sympathies  of  the  world. 

Failing  to  realize  a  replenished  exchequer  from  the  new  world 
immediately/  the  selfish  and  crafty  king  resolved  early  in  the 
spring  of  1499  upon  a  measure  of  gross  injustice  to  Columbus. 
It  involved  nothing  less  than  the  appointment  of  a  commissioner 
to  proceed  to  the  viceregal  domain,  to  investigate  its  condition 
and  the  administration  of  Columbus,  to  decide  upon  the  most 
urgent  matters,  and  to  refer  the  rest  to  the  crown.  The  com 
missioner  appointed  was  Don  Francisco  de  Bobadilla,  an  officer 
of  the  king's  household  and  a  commander  of  the  noble  and  illus 
trious  religious  and  military  Order  of  Calatrava.  The  first  com 
mission,  dated  March  2ist,  1499,  was  evidently  aimed  at  the 
rebels,  and  while  it  empowered  another  to  deal  summarily  with 


426  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

them,  instead  of  strengthening  the  hands  of  the  admiral  for  that 
purpose,  it  did  not  in  effect  otherwise  vary  from  the  repeated 
requests  of  the  admiral  himself  for  the  appointment  of  such  a 
commissioner  to  assist  him  in  restoring  peace  and  order  in  His- 
paniola,  especially  the  request  he  made  in  his  letter  of  October 
1 8th,  1498.  His  position  and  authority  were  in  this  letter,  how 
ever,  expressly  recognized  by  the  authority  given  by  it  to  the 
commissioner,  in  case  of  necessity,  to  invoke  the  aid  of  the 
admiral  and  all  others  exercising  authority  on  the  island.  Had 
the  desired  relief  been  extended  to  the  admiral  when  he  requested 
it,  in  the  fall  of  1498,  there  would  have  been  no  necessity  for 
further  measures,  for  he  then  requested  the  recall  of  Roldan  to 
Europe  to  be  judged  by  their  Majesties. 

The  current  of  slander  and  injustice  had  now  set  in  against 
Columbus  with  malignant  and  insatiable  force.  The  measure 
adopted  in  the  commission  of  March  2ist,  1499,  might  have  re 
lieved  the  island  and  its  viceroy,  but  the  appointment  of  Boba- 
dilla,  whose  subsequent  unprovoked  injustice  and  malice  against 
Columbus  showed  how  the  enemies  of  the  latter  had  triumphed 
in  securing  the  selection  of  one  of  his  bitterest  though,  perhaps, 
secret  enemies.  Not  satisfied  with  this  advantage  gained,  the 
admiral's  enemies  followed  up  their  conspiracy  with  such  per 
sistent  skill  as  finally  to  secure  to  their  measures  the  approval 
of  the  noble  and  magnanimous  queen. 

The  increase  of  the  admiral's  unpopularity  may  be  measured 
by  the  steady  progress  of  the  injustice  of  the  royal  measures 
adopted  against  him.  The  sovereigns  were  next  induced  to 
issue  another  and  broader  commission  to  Bobadilla,  dated  May 
2ist,  1499,  which  is  addressed  to  the  counsellors,  judges,  magis 
trates,  cavaliers,  gentlemen,  officers,  and  inhabitants  of  the 
colony,  in  which  Bobadilla's  appointment  as  Governor-General 
of  the  Indies  is  announced,  and  in  which  the  admiral  and  viceroy 
is  not  even  mentioned.  Bobadilla  is  now  expressly  invested 
with  full  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction,  and  all  cavaliers  and 
other  persons  now  in  the  islands  discovered  by  Columbus,  or 
arriving  thereafter,  were  commanded  to  quit  them  if  Bobadilla 
should  deem  it  necessary  for  the  benefit  of  the  royal  service,  and 
not  to  return  to  them,  but  to  repair  to  Spain  ;  and  for  these 
purposes  all  necessary  powers  were  conferred  on  him,  and  all 
were  ordered  to  obey  his  orders  on  the  spot,  without  recourse  to 


ON   COLUMBUS.  427 

the  sovereigns  and  without  appeal,  under  such  penalties  as 
Bobadilla  himself  might  think  proper  to  impose.  So  general 
were  these  powers  and  instructions,  that  they  plainly  placed 
Columbus  himself  and  his  brothers  in  the  power  of  Bobadilla. 
Another  letter  of  the  same  date  commands  Columbus  and  his 
brothers  to  surrender  the  forts,  vessels,  magazines,  arms,  am 
munition,  and  everything  belonging  to  the  king  into  the  hands 
of  Bobadilla  as  governor,  under  the  same  penalties  as  were 
denounced  against  all  such  as  refuse  to  comply  with  similar 
orders.  In  this  letter  Columbus  was  designated  as  admiral  of 
the  ocean.  A  fourth  letter  was  signed  only  five  days  later,  on 
May  26th,  which  was  addressed  to  the  admiral  himself,  and  by 
that  title  only,  announcing  the  appointment  of  Bobadilla,  and 
commanding  full  faith  and  obedience  to  be  accorded  to  him. 

The  first  letter,  being  directed  only  against  the  rebels,  appar 
ently  did  not  satisfy  the  enemies  of  Columbus,  whose  efforts 
were  aimed  directly  at  him.  But  they  argued  with  the  queen, 
whose  reluctance  to  proceed  against  the  admiral  was  manifest — 
why  send  out  Bobadilla  powerless  in  case  his  investigations 
prove  the  admiral  to  be  the  wrongdoer  ?  Why  in  such  case 
should  he  not  be  provided  with  ample  authority  to  proceed 
against  the  real  delinquent  at  once,  rather  than  paralyze  his 
work  by  suspending  all  proceedings  until  he  could  return  to 
Spain,  make  his  report  to  the  sovereigns,  and  then,  perhaps, 
when  it  was  too  late,  send  out  another  mandate  to  bring  the 
admiral  to  justice  ?  If  the  admiral  should  prove  to  be  innocent, 
then  the  two  letters  of  May  2ist  would  be  of  no  use,  and  it  was 
consequently  understood  that  in  such  case  they  should  not  be 
produced  or  made  public.  Specious  as  this  argument  was,  it 
succeeded  with  the  queen,  though  it  is  quite  evident  by  this 
arrangement  Columbus  and  his  brothers  were  placed  within  the 
discretionary  power  of  Bobadilla,  for  he  was  empowered  to 
decide  who  was  to  blame.  He  could  readily  decide  that  Columbus 
was  the  one  at  fault,  with  the  foregone  conclusion  that  he  would 
be  proceeded  against  immediately.  What  could  have  been  more 
unjust  than  the  entrustment  of  such  a  discretion  over  any  man 
in  the  hands  of  his  enemy  ?  It  would  be  a  temptation  to  any 
ambitious  man,  though  not  an  enemy  already. 

So  reluctant  was  the  queen  to  proceed  against  one  whom  she 
so  highly  honored  and  esteemed,  that  these  measures  remained 


428  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

suspended  long  after  they  had  assumed  a  definite  shape.  In  the 
autumn  of  1499  the  returning  rebels  arrived  in  Spain,  and  in  the 
fact  that  they  brought  with  them  slaves  assigned  to  them  by 
Columbus  was  the  final  argument  and  cogent  reason  which  his 
enemies  were  anxiously  awaiting,  and  which  they  promptly  and 
eagerly  used  with  success.  The  poor  unfortunate  Indian  girls, 
whose  sad  condition  touched  the  hearts  of  the  good  queen  and 
her  subjects,  were  not  in  fact  assigned  to  these  miscreants  by 
the  admiral,  but  had  been  seized  or  seduced  by  the  rebels  in 
their  lawless  marches  through  Hispaniola.  But  the  contrary 
was  industriously  made  to  appear  to  the  queen,  and  her  gener 
ous  nature  was  aroused  by  the  charge  that  such  wrongs  were 
perpetrated  under  her  reign.  There  was  scarcely  a  voice  raised 
on  the  side  of  truth  and  justice.  Guided  by  her  womanly  senti 
ments  and  queenly  indignation,  she  immediately  commanded 
that  all  who  had  received  slaves  from  the  admiral  should  deliver 
them  up,  to  be  returned  to  their  country  and  their  families, 
under  the  penalty  of  death  ;  but  she  excepted  from  this  decree  all 
such  Indians  as  had  been  previously  brought  from  Hispaniola, 
alleging  as  the  ground  of  this  exception  that  it  was  known  that 
these  had  been  taken  as  prisoners  in  a  just  war.  Alas  !  how  far 
short  of  perfection  or  complete  justice  do  the  most  exalted  of 
human  actions  fall  !  Prisoners  in  a  just  war  !  On  which  side 
does  justice  cling  in  a  war  waged  on  the  one  side  by  the  invaders 
of  the  peaceful  country  and  homes  of  an  inoffensive  portion  of 
mankind,  children  of  one  common  Father,  and  waged  on  the 
other  in  defence  of  country,  home,  family,  property,  wife,  chil 
dren,  and  of  every  natural  right  ?  Has  man  no  inherent  rights, 
in  a  state  of  nature,  which  civilized  man  is  bound  to  respect  ? 
Again,  why  should  the  admiral,  whose  heart  was  as  tender  to 
the  Indians  as  Queen  Isabella's,  and  who  had  given  a  new  world 
with  all  its  inhabitants  to  Spain,  be  condemned  without  a  hear 
ing  ?  No  wonder  that  Bobadilla,  whose  character  and  acts  do- 
not  rise  above  those  of  Roldan  and  Ojeda,  of  Margarite  and  his 
confederates,  of  Boil  and  Fonseca,  should  have  felt  and  seen 
that  the  cause  of  Columbus  was  prejudged,  and  that  he  had 
nothing  in  his  meditated  action  more  congenial  to  himself  or 
more  loudly  demanded  than  to  capture  his  victim  and  load  him 
with  every  wrong  and  injustice  ! 

The  execution  of  these  harsh  measures  against  Columbus  was 


ON   COLUMBUS.  429 

delayed  for  a  year.  Probably  the  reluctance  of  Isabella  may 
have  added  to  this  delay  ;  but  it  is  manifest  that  this  delay 
greatly  added  to  the  rigor  and  injustice  of  the  intended  blow. 
Heretofore  the  admiral  had  found  in  the  noble  and  magnanimous 
queen  an  unfailing  friend,  a  just  and  upright  sovereign,  a  sym 
pathizing  patroness,  and  a  bulwark  of  strength  against  all  his 
enemies.  When  this  support  and  consolation  failed  him,  truly 
his  cause  was  desperate,  and  well  might  he  have  felt  a  fear  of 
the  race,  and  have  cast  himself  upon  the  ocean  in  despair.  What 
must  have  been  the  poison  instilled  into  her  heart  and  mind  on 
her  visit  to  Seville,  where  Fonseca  and  his  minions  gained  her 
over  to  the  cause  of  the  admiral's  enemies  !  From  the  time  of 
this  visit  Columbus  had  lost  favor  with  this  noble  queen.  Not 
only  are  his  demands  refused,  and  those  even  by  which  he  re 
quested  that  his  eldest  son,  Don  Diego,  might  be  sent  to  him, 
but  her  signature  was  given  to  those  unjust  and  ungrateful  de 
crees  which  clouded  his  approach  to  the  grave  with  sorrow  and 
ingratitude. 

Bobadilla's  commission  having  been  made  out  and  delivered 
to  him,  with  all  the  solemnity  of  so  important  a  royal  act,  he 
thenceforth  only  delayed  his  departure  in  waiting  for  a  favorable 
season  for  the  voyage.  He  sailed  from  Spain  for  San  Domingo 
about  the  middle  of  July,  1500,  with  two  caravels,  and  he  car 
ried  with  him  a  military  guard  of  twenty-five  men,  who  had  been 
enlisted  for  this  purpose  for  a  year.  To  this  singular  expedition 
was  added  a  body  of  six  missionaries  or  friars  sent  out  in  special 
charge  of  the  Indians  then  returned  to  Hispaniola,  and  to  labor 
for  the  conversion  of  the  natives.  As  if  to  stamp  the  royal 
credence  on  the  charge  that  Columbus  had  not  paid  the  men 
enlisted  in  the  royal  service,  without  regard  to  the  truth  or 
justice  of  the  act,  a  decree  was  handed  to  Bobadilla  authorizing 
him  to  ascertain  and  discharge  all  arrears  due  by  the  crown,  and 
to  compel  the  admiral  to  pay  whatever  he  might  personally  owe, 
in  order  that,  as  the  decree  alleged,  "  each  one  should  receive 
whatever  was  due  him,  and  there  should  be  no  more  com 
plaints."  But  the  sovereigns  made  themselves  responsible  for 
all  the  acts  of  oppression  and  injustice  their  commissioner  might 
commit,  by  confiding  to  him  several  letters  in  blank,  bearing  the 
royal  signatures,  in  order  that,  filling  them  up  with  his  own 
orders,  he  might  accomplish  all  things  necessary  for  his  mission. 


43O  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

Whatever  limits  might  have  been  placed  on  Bobadilla's  powers 
by  the  commission,  this  license  to  use  the  royal  signatures  for 
his  purposes  placed  every  person  in  Hispaniola  under  the  arbi 
trary  will  of  this  prejudiced,  incompetent,  and  unworthy  official. 
To  his  enmity  for  Columbus  was  added  that  bane  of  small  minds 
and  souls,  the  intoxication  of  authority.* 

The  two  caravels,  with  Bobadilla  and  his  attendants  and  soldiers 
on  board,  arrived  on  August  23,  1 500,  before  the  harbor  of  San  Do 
mingo.  Don  Diego,  the  admiral's  brother,  was  then  in  command 
at  that  city,  while  the  admiral  was  at  Fort  Conception,  enlarging 
its  works  and  regulating  the  affairs  of  the  Vega,  where  the  Indian 
population  was  most  numerous.  Don  Bartholomew  Columbus  was 
then  in  Xaragua,  engaged  with  Roldan  in  following  up  and  en 
forcing  the  sentences  pronounced  against  the  fugitive  rebels. 
Don  Diego  sent  a  boat  to  the  vessels,  which  he  supposed  were 
sent  out  with  supplies  and  to  bring  out  the  admiral's  eldest  son, 
Don  Diego  ;  but  Bobadilla  in  person  answered  the  inquiries  thus 
made,  announcing  himself  as  in  command  of  the  ships,  and  in 
formed  the  men  in  the  boat  of  the  non-arrival  in  the  ship  of  Don 
Diego  Columbus,  the  admiral's  son.  Eager  to  commence  his 
bad  work,  he  obtained  from  the  messenger  information  of  the 
recent  insurrection  of  Moxica,  his  dread  punishment,  the  execu 
tion  of  seven  other  rebels  the  same  week,  the  present  confine 
ment  of  five  others  in  the  fort  at  San  Domingo  awaiting  execu 
tion,  including  Pedro  Requelme  and  Fernando  de  Guevara,  who 
had  been  so  prominent  in  the  recent  troubles  ;  and  he  further 
ascertained  that  the  admiral  was  in  the  Vega,  Don  Bartholomew 
in  Xaragua,  and  Don  Diego  was  acting  governor  at  San  Do 
mingo.  The  news  of  the  arrival  of  a  myal  commissioner  created 
great  excitement  on  shore,  and  awakened  varied  sentiments 
among  the  inhabitants,  according  to  their  respective  relations  to 
the  authorities  ;  but  the  most  joyous  and  clamorous  at  the 
arrival  of  Bobadilla  were  those  who  claimed  that  the  admiral 


*  Fernando  Columbus,  "Hist,  del  Almirante,"  cap.  Ixxxv.  ;  Mufioz,  "  Hist.  Nuevo 
Mundo,"  unpublished  portion  quoted  by  Mr.  Irving  ;  Las  Casas,  lib.  i.,  cap.  clxxix.  ,~ 
Oviedo,  "  Cronico,"  lib.  Hi.,  cap.  vi.  ;  Herrera,  decad.  i.,  lib.  iv.,  cap.  vii.  ;  Girolamo- 
Benzoni,  "  Storia  del  Nuevo  Mundo,"  lib.  i.  ;  Navarrete,  "Col.  Doc.  Dipl.,"  No. 
cxxvii.,  cxxviii.  ;  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  iii.,  pp.  239-47  ;  Brownson's  translation  of 
Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  iii.,  pp.  164-72;  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  De 
Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  pp.  406,  407. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  431 

had  not  paid  their  dues.  On  entering  the  harbor,  the  first  sight 
that  met  Bobadilla's  eager  eyes  were  the  bodies  of  two  of  the 
late  rebels  hanging  from  the  gallows.  Many  eager  self-seekers 
and  enemies  of  Columbus  hastened  out  to  the  ships  to  greet  the 
new  commissioner  and  make  interest  with  the  rising  powers. 
Remaining  all  day  on  his  ships,  he  lent  a  willing  ear  to  the  tales 
of  his  numerous  visitors,  who  were  the  most  unworthy  members 
of  the  community,  and  whose  conduct  still  exposed  them  to  the 
criminal  law  for  their  misdeeds.  In  fact,  Bobadilla  was  already, 
and  even  before  landing  and  taking  possession  of  his  office,  con 
ducting  an  ex parte  trial  of  the  admiral  in  his  absence,  and  none 
but  his  enemies,  criminals  before  the  law,  were  his  informants. 
Before  the  landing  of  the  commissioner  his  victim  was  already 
condemned. 

On  the  following  day  Bobadilla  landed,  with  his  attendants 
and  followers,  proceeded  to  the  church,  where  he  heard  mass, 
and  then,  in  front  of  the  church,  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled 
crowd,  which  included  Don  Diego,  Rodrigo  Perez,  and  many 
principal  officials  of  the  island,  he  ordered  to  be  read  his  letter 
of  March  2ist,  giving  him  full  authority  over  the  rebels  and 
their  cases  ;  thereupon  he  unceremoniously  demanded  of  Don 
Diego  and  the  alcaldes  the  surrender  to  him  of  Requelme, 
Guevara,  and  all  the  other  rebels,  together  with  the  depositions 
taken  in  their  cases,  and  publicly  summoned  before  him  their 
accusers  and  all  who  had  participated  in  their  arrest  and  prose 
cution.  The  mild  but  firm  Don  Diego  declined,  in  the  absence 
of  the  admiral,  to  accede  to  his  demands,  relying  upon  the  titles 
and  jurisdiction  of  the  admiral  and  viceroy  as  superior  to  those 
of  the  commissioner,  and  demanded  a  copy  of  the  royal  letter 
for  the  admiral.  Bobadilla  insultingly  refused  this  request, 
threatening  all  who  refused  obedience  to  him  as  commissioner 
with  his  powers  as  governor,  and  he  asserted  his  power  over  the 
admiral  himself. 

On  the  following  morning  Bobadilla,  after  again  hearing  mass 
— such  men  are  apt  to  affect  great  piety  and  religion — again 
appeared  before  the  assembled  population,  which  was  only  too 
anxious  to  catch  the  first  intimation  of  the  movements  of  this 
formidable  personage.  Having  first  taken  an  official  oath  he 
caused  the  second  royal  patent  to  be  read — that  which  invested 
him  with  the  government  of  the  islands  and  even  of  Terra  Finna, 


432  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

discovered  by  Columbus,  and  of  which  he  was  appointed  viceroy, 
not  by  mere  tree  selection,  but  by  a  solemn  convention,  based  on 
mutual  considerations.  He  demanded  the  obedience  of  Don  Diego 
Columbus,  Rodrigo  Perez,  and  all  the  assembled  subjects  of  the 
crown.  He  again  demanded  the  delivery  of  the  prisoners  to 
him.  The  officials  and  citizens  thus  addressed,  while  deferen 
tially  protesting  their  respect  for  the  letters  of  the  sovereigns, 
firmly  but  respectfully  asserted  that  the  detention  of  the  prisoners 
was  by  orders  of  the  admiral  and  viceroy,  who  held  under  a 
solemn  convention  with  the  crown  royal  patents,  titles,  and 
jurisdictions  of  a  superior  character.  Incensed  at  this  refusal, 
and  humbled  by  the  evident  impression  it  made  on  the  assembly 
and  the  doubt  it  cast  upon  -his  authority,  he  now  produced  and 
had  read  his  third  royal  mandate,  by  which  Columbus  and  his 
brothers  were  ordered  to  deliver  up  to  him  all  the  fortresses, 
ships,  and  royal  property  of  every  kind,  and  still  further,  to 
ingratiate  himself  with  the  people,  he  produced  and  had  read 
the  remaining  order  of.  May  3Oth,  by  which  the  admiral  was 
ordered  to  pay  all  dues  unpaid  to  persons  in  the  service  of  the 
crown,  as  well  as  all  to  whom  he  was  personally  indebted.  The 
shouts  of  the  rabble  now  proved  that  Bobadilla  had  gained  their 
sympathies.  A  second  demand  for  the  prisoners  having  met 
with  the  same  response,  he  proceeded  to  the  fort,  where  he 
demanded  the  prisoners  of  the  commandant,  Miguel  Diaz,  the 
same  that  had  discovered  the  rich  mines  of  Hayna,  accompany 
ing  his  demand  with  threats  to  use  force  in  obtaining  them  unless 
they  were  surrendered.  The  commandant  of  the  fort  excused 
himself  under  plea  of  having  received  his  orders  from  the  supe 
rior  authority  of  the  admiral  and  viceroy,  and  parleyed  with 
Bobadilla  in  order  to  gain  time,  for  the  fortress  was  a  mere  shell, 
destitute  of  any  garrison,  and  occupied  solely  by  the  command 
ant,  Miguel  Diaz,  and  Don  Diego  de  Alvarado.  Bobadilla  now 
assembled  together  his  military  guard,  the  sailors,  and  others  he 
had  brought  from  Spain,  and  the  rabble  whom  he  had  won  over 
to  his  side  ;  and  having  approached  cautiously  and  on  several 
sides,  he  assailed  the  undefended  fortress  with  quixotic  valor 
and  fury.  The  conquest  was  an  easy  one  even  for  Bobadilla,  as 
no  defence  was  or  could  be  made.  On  reaching  the  battlements 
he  found  there  only  Diaz  and  Alvarado  with  drawn  swords,  but 
offering  no  resistance  to  the  motley  rabble.  The  new  commis- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  433 

sioner  took  possession  of  the  fortress  with  mock  triumph  and 
ceremony,  and  having  had  the  prisoners  brought  up  before  him, 
and  having  gone  through  the  empty  ceremony  of  asking  them  a 
few  questions,  he  gave  them  in  charge  of  Juan  de  Espinosa,  the 
alguacil.  The  official,  Bobadilla,  then  seized  the  admiral's  house 
and  made  it  his  own  residence,  plundering  it  completely,  and 
taking  possession  of  all  the  admiral's  property  and  effects  therein, 
including  his  arms,  furniture,  pearls,  gold,  plate,  jewels,  horses, 
together  with  even  his  private  letters,  manuscripts,  and  his  most 
secret  confidential  papers.  Among  the  properties  seized  were 
the  admiral's  mineralogical  collection,  curiosities,  rare  shells,  his 
vegetable  collection,  and  his  religious  memorials.  Even  the  docu 
ments  necessary  for  his  defence  were  seized  and  many  of  them 
suppressed.  He  took  no  account  of  his  seizures,  but  proceeded 
summarily  to  confiscate  everything  to  the  crown,  and  denounced 
the  admiral  in  terms  of  condemnation,  alleging  that  he  would 
send  him  in  chains  to  Spain,  and  obliterate  his  jurisdictions  and 
viceroyalty,  his  name  and  his  lineage.  No  blundering  tyrant 
could  have  proceeded  in  greater  defiance  of  his  instructions,  or 
have  done  more  to  invalidate  his  own  proceedings  ;  for  his 
subsequent  royal  patents  vvere  only  to  be  produced  or  used  in 
case  his  first  proceedings  against  the  rebels  proved  ineffectual. 
He  proceeded  at  once  to  execute  the  most  remote,  alternative 
and  conditional  powers,  and  this  he  did  primarily  and  abruptly 
against  the  admiral.  He  thus  proclaimed  his  true  character — 
that  of  an  outlaw.  The  admiral  was  condemned,  and,  in  fact, 
sentenced  to  chains,  imprisonment,  transportation,  and  confisca 
tion  before  he  was  seen  or  summoned,  and  before  he  was  ac 
cused,  heard,  or  defended,  and  in  his  absence — before  even  he 
had  been  made  aware  of  the  existence  or  powers  of  his  judge  or 
of  the  court.  In  his  letter  to  the  governess  of  Prince  Juan,  the 
admiral  thus  wrote  of  Bobadilla's  plundering  his  house  :  "  A 
corsair  could  have  done  no  worse  with  a  merchantman  ;  but 
what  grieved  me  most  of  all  was  the  loss  of  my  papers,  of  none 
of  which  I  have  been  able  to  recover  possession,  and  the  most 
necessary  for  my  exculpation  are  precisely  those  he  has  kept  the 
best  concealed."  * 


*  Las  Casas,  "Hist.  Ind.,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  clxxix.  ;  Fernando  Colombo,  "Hist,  del 
Almirante,"  cap.  Ixxxv.  ;  Herrera,  decad.  i.,lib.  iv.,  cap.  xiii.  ;  Irving's  "Columbus," 
vol.  ii.,  pp.  248-54  ;  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  De  Lorgues'  "Columbus,"  pp.  408- 
10  ;  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus, "vol.  ii.,  p.  172-77. 


434  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

That  such  an  outlaw  should  have  been  a  member  of  the  house 
hold  of  the  King  of  Spain,  that  he  should  have  been  a  commander 
of  the  once  honorable  and  noble  military  and  religious  Order  of 
Calatrava — an  order  created  to  celebrate  the  heroic  capture  of 
the  city  of  Calatrava  from  the  Moors — are  facts  which  argue  most 
unfavorably  for  the  atmosphere  of  palaces  and  the  discipline  and 
honor  of  high-sounding  orders.  That  he  should  have  been  ap 
pointed  thus  to  such  an  office  was  a  true  index  to  the  character 
of  King  Ferdinand.  Among  the  plunder  seized  in  the  house  of 
the  admiral  were  those  fine  specimens  of  virgin  gold,  as  large  as 
a  hen's  egg,  which  he  had  so  carefully  preserved  for  presenta 
tion  to  the  sovereigns,  as  the  means  both  of  verifying  his  state 
ments  and  of  sustaining  the  prosecution  of  his  grand  enterprise. 
Bobadilla  did  not  think  of  the  honesty  which  necessitated  a 
measuring  or  weighing  of  the  captured  gold  ;  and  in  order  to 
prevent  the  good  impressions  these  large  samples  of  gold  would 
make  upon  the  minds  of  the  king  and  queen,  he  paid  them  out 
at  once  among  the  people.  Coveting  the  support  and  applause 
of  the  low  and  sordid,  he  proclaimed  an  unrestricted  license  to 
all  to  collect  gold  for  twenty  years,  and  reduced  the  royal  quota 
of  the  gold  from  a  third  to  an  eleventh.  Thus  he  effectually 
turned  Hispaniola  over  to  robbers  and  outlaws  for  plunder  and 
disorder.  How  shameful  it  is  that  the  grandest  of  human  enter 
prises  are  clouded  with  such  crimes  and  outrages  ! 

Columbus  had  seen  such  outlaws  as  Roldanand  Ojeda  plunder 
the  island  and  its  natives  ;  he  had  more  recently  heard  of  a 
squadron  under  Vicente  Yafiez  Pinzon  touching  at  the  coasts, 
and  rumors  of  other  lawless  adventurers  licensed  by  King  Ferdi 
nand,  or  at  least  connived  at  by  him,  in  the  neighborhood  had 
reached  him.  When  he  heard  of  Bobadilla's  high-handed  pro 
ceedings  he  thought  he  recognized  in  them  the  excesses  of  such 
or  similar  ruffians.  It  never  occurred  to  him  that  this  was  a 
member  of  King  Ferdinand's  household,  a  commander  of  the 
Order  of  Calatrava,  a  new  governor  of  Hispaniola,  holding  a  com 
mission  signed  by  such  illustrious  sovereigns.  Puzzled  at  the 
outrages  and  successes  imputed  by  rumor  to  Bobadilla,  he 
cautiously  proceeded  from  Conception  to  Bonao,  in  order  to  be 
nearer  to  the  scene  and  obtain  more  prompt  information  of  the 
usurpation  and  proceedings  of  this  intruder,  for  so  far  he  had 
not  received  the  courtesy  of  a  letter,  a  message,  or  even  a  sum- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  435 

mons.  He  wrote,  however,  to  Bobadilla  in  conciliatory  terms, 
welcomed  him  to  Hispaniola,  cautioned  him  against  such  rash 
measures  as  the  general  license  to  collect  gold,  and  announced 
his  own  intention  of  returning  to  Spain,  leaving  Bobadilla  in  pos 
session  of  the  government.  He  received  no  answer  to  his  letter. 
But  scarcely  had  he  arrived  at  this  place  when  an  alcalde,  bear 
ing  the  staff  and  insignia  of  office,  arrived,  proclaimed  the  appoint 
ment  of  Bobadilla  as  governor,  and  bearing  copies  of  his  royal 
commissions.  Conscious  of  his  own  innocence,  relying  upon 
the  transcendent  services  he  had  rendered  to  the  crown,  and 
trusting  to  the  honor  of  the  sovereigns,  to  whom  his  relations 
were  defined  by  solemn  and  mutual  compact,  he  still  thought 
that  Bobadilla  was  merely  a  chief  justice  sent  out  to  re-establish 
order  and  enforce  the  laws.  He  shaped  his  action  for  gaining 
time,  in  the  hope  that  his  vindication  might  come  ;  and  in  order 
to  lessen  the  damage  arising  from  Bobadilla's  license  for  hunting 
gold,  he  publicly  and  privately,  by  word  and  writing,  denied 
his  authority  to  issue  such  licenses,  and  appealed  to  his  own 
higher  powers  granted  by  the  sovereigns. 

But  now  the  truth  rudely  and  cruelly  burst  upon  the  admiral. 
On  September  7th  there  arrived  at  Bonao  the  royal  treasurer, 
Francisco  Velasquez,  and  a  Franciscan  monk,  Juan  de  Trasierra, 
bringing  with  them  the  royal  letter  of  May  26th,  addressed  to 
the  admiral,  announcing  Bobadilla's  appointment  and  command 
ing  his  obedience  to  him  ;  and  at  the  same  time  they  served  upon 
him  a  summons  from  Bobadilla  to  appear  before  him.  The  royal 
treasurer  and  the  Franciscan  monk  informed  the  admiral  of  all 
that  Bobadilla  had  done  at  San  Domingo.  The  admiral  could 
not  believe  that  his  sovereigns  had  been  or  could  be  capable  of 
perpetrating  such  a  wrong  upon  one  who  had  contributed  its 
greatest  glory  and  renown  to  their  illustrious  reign  ;  for  what 
were  then,  what  now  are  the  conquest  of  Granada  and  the  now 
broken  empire  secured  to  their  grandson,  Charles  V.,  to  the  dis 
covery  of  the  new  world  !  When  the  admiral  saw  the  terse 
letter  of  the  sovereigns,  bearing  their  signatures,  so  familiar  to 
him  for  better  and  nobler  purposes,  and  countersigned  by  the 
secretary,  Miguel  Perez  d'Almanza,  the  admiral  bowed  his  head 
in  submission  to  his  sovereigns  and  in  shame  for  them,  not  for 
himself.  '  The  sovereigns  broke  the  conventions  made  with 
him,"  says  the  Count  de  Lorgues,  "  violated  their  word,  and 


436  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

disposed  of  privileges  and  offices  which  belonged  to  him  and  his 
descendants.  They  condemned  him  without  a  trial,  or  giving 
him  an  opportunity  of  justifying  himself.  At  first,  on  thinking 
of  this  iniquity,  which  would  have  subverted  the  reason  of  any 
other  mortal,  Columbus  was  overwhelmed  with  sorrow,  and 
blushed  with  shame  for  the  sovereigns.  But  if  they  stifled  the 
sense  of  gratitude,  forgot  their  promises,  and  falsified  their 
words,  the  admiral  respected  his  oath.  He  resolved  not  to  fail  in 
his  obedience,  and  to  give  in  a  Christian  manner  the  example  of 
submission  to  even  unjust  authority."  The  letter  of  the  sover 
eigns,  so  cruelly  brief,  was  couched  in  the  following  terms  : 

'  To  Don  Christopher  Columbus,  Our  Admiral  of  the  Ocean  Sea  : 

"  We  have  ordered  the  commander,  Francisco  Bobadilla,  the 
bearer  of  this,  to  say  some  things  to  you  on  our  part.  We  there 
fore  pray  you  to  give  him  faith  and  credence,  and  to  obey  him" 

Mankind  are  substantially  the  same  in  all  ages  and  countries. 
It  was  rapidly  circulated  throughout  Hispaniola  that  the  admiral 
was  in  disgrace,  and  was  to  be  sent  back  to  Spain  in  chains — a 
felon's  chains.  The  people,  so  lately  accustomed  to  bow  to  him 
and  to  obey  his  words,  now  poured  forth  in  haste  to  San  Do 
mingo  to  worship  the  new  governor,  and  gain  his  favor.  '  The 
most  potent  way  of  doing  this  was  to  slander  and  accuse  the 
admiral  ;  and  as  Bobadilla  eagerly  sought  every  means  of  sus 
taining  his  illegal  and  lawless  seizure  of  the  government,  and  his 
disregard  of  every  public  and  private  right,  he  invited  every 
vilifier  and  libeller  to  his  presence,  and  a  huge  record  was  made 
of  the  crimes  and  misdeeds  of  Columbus  and  his  brothers. 

Columbus,  by  his  act  of  submission  to  his  sovereigns,  gave 
evidence  of  his  personal  elevation  of  soul  ;  his  conduct  dwarfed 
the  sovereigns  themselves  and  all  their  false  servitors,  such  as 
Bobadilla,  Fonseca,  and  his  countless  enemies.  Bowing  his  head 
before  such  an  injustice,  he  started  for  San  Domingo,  unguarded 
and  even  unattended  save  by  his  few  servants,  and  stripped 
of  every  insignia  of  authority  and  power.  On  horseback,  and 
with  the  girdle  of  St.  Francis  around  his  waist,  the  condemned 
went  to  meet  his  fate.  Bobadilla,  with  a  mockery  ot  official 
necessity,  made  great  show  of  military  force,  pretending  that 
Columbus  and  his  brothers  intended  to  raise  an  insurrection 
and  march  upon  San  Domingo  at  the  head  of  an  army  of 


ON   COLUMBUS.  437 

caciques  and  their  vassals  and  subjects,  to  resist  the  orders  of 
the  sovereigns.  Under  this  empty  pretext  he  arrested  the  mild 
and  gentle  Don  Diego  Columbus,  placed  him  in  chains,  and 
sent  him  a  prisoner  to  one  of  the  caravels.  Although  he 
came  to  San  Domingo  in  the  humblest  garb  and  without  an 
escort,  Bobadilla  immediately  ordered  Columbus  to  be  seized, 
loaded  with  chains,  and  imprisoned  in  the  fort.  Such  an  outrage 
on  such  a  person  appalled  even  the  worst  enemies  of  the  admiral, 
and  there  was  no  one  so  degraded  as  to  be  willing  to  place  the 
irons  upon  him,  when  the  odious  task  was  performed  by  one  of 
the  admiral's  own  domestics,  of  whom  the  venerable  Las  Casas 
writes  :  "  He  was  an  impudent  and  shameless  cook,  that  riveted 
the  irons  on  his  master's  feet  with  the  same  alacrity  and  readi 
ness  as  if  he  were  serving  him  some  savory  dish.  I  knew  the 
wretch,  and  think  his  name  was  Espinosa." 

'  This  outrage  on  a  man  so  venerable  and  of  such  eminent 
merit  seemed  atrocious  even  to  his  enemies,"  writes  the  learned 
and  just  Tarducci.  The  Count  de  Lorgues  also  writes  :  "  It 
was  between  prayer,  the  poetry  of  the  Psalms,  and  the  contem 
plation  of  nature  in  these  equinoctial  regions  that  the  disciple  of 
the  Cross,  fully  resigning  himself  to  the  divine  will,  came  humbly 
to  his  enemy."  And  our  own  Irving,  with  noble  sympathy, 
penned  these  eloquent  and  indignant  words  :  "  Columbus  con 
ducted  himself  with  characteristic  magnanimity  under  the  injuries 
heaped  upon  him.  There  is  a  noble  scorn  which  swells  and 
supports  the  heart  and  silences  the  tongue  of  the  truly  great 
when  enduring  the  insults  of  the  unworthy.  Columbus  could 
not  stoop  to  deprecate  the  arrogance  of  a  weak  and  violent  man 
like  Bobadilla.  He  looked  beyond  this  shallow  agent  and  all  his 
petty  tyranny  to  the  sovereigns  who  had  employed  him.  Thus 
injustice  or  ingratitude  alone  could  wound  his  spirit ;  and  he 
felt  assured  that  when  the  truth  came  to  be  known,  they  would 
blush  to  find  how  greatly  they  had  wronged  him.  With  this 
proud  assurance  he  bore  all  present  indignities  in  silence."  * 


*  Herrera,  decad.  i.,  lib.  v.,  cap.  ix.  ;  Las  Casas,  "Hist.  Ind.,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  180  ; 
Oviedo,  "  Cronica,"  lib.  iii.,  cap.  vi.  ;  the  admiral's  letter  to  the  governess  of  Prince 
Juan  ;  Fernando  Columbus,  "  Hist,  del  Almirante,"  cap.  Ixxxvi.  ;  Navarrete,  "Col. 
Dipl.  Doc.,"  cxxx.  ;  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  255-62  ;  Dr.  Barry's  trans 
lation  of  De  Lorgues'  "Life  of  Columbus,"  408-12  ;  Brownson's  translation  of  Tar- 
ducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  172-80. 


438  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

The  contrast  between  a  great  man  and  a  despicable  one  was 
now  constantly  presented.  With  the  populace  at  his  back,  and 
with  Columbus  and  his  brother  Don  Diego  in  prison  and  in 
chains,  Bobadilla  felt  solicitous  to  get  Don  Bartholomew  also  in 
his  power  ;  but  he  feared  him  as  a  ruffian  fears  a  brave  man. 
He  shrank  from  meeting  him  face  to  face,  and  even  from  sending 
him  orders  to  repair  to  San  Domingo.  He  knew  the  robust  and 
generous  nature  of  the  Adelantado,  his  indomitable  courage,  his 
indignation  at  knavery,  his  resentment  at  outrage  of  every  kind, 
his  affection  for  his  brother.  He  feared  that  when  he  heard  of 
the  indignities  and  cruelties  inflicted  upon  the  admiral  and  Don 
Diego,  that  the  brave  Adelantado  might,  at  the  head  of  his 
forces,  march  upon  San  Domingo  and  punish  the  official  outlaw 
as  he  had  merited.  Bobadilla  had  the  meanness  to  resort  to  the 
admiral  and  request  him  to  write  to  Don  Bartholomew  to  instruct 
him  to  repair  peacefully  to  the  city,  and  to  refrain  from  executing 
or  exasperating  any  of  his  prisoners.  The  admiral  had  the  mag 
nanimity  to  comply  with  his  request  through  the  desire  to  save 
the  island  from  civil  war,  through  respect  for  the  letters  of  his 
sovereigns,  and  in  the  full  confidence  that  these  insults  and 
wrongs  would  be  redressed  on  his  return  to  Spain  and  making 
known  the  truth.  On  receiving  his  brother's  letter  the  Adelan 
tado  immediately  laid  down  his  command  and  proceeded  peace 
fully  to  San  Domingo.  Here  he  was  also  arrested  by  Bobadilla, 
placed  in  chains,  and  imprisoned  on  board  the  other  caravel. 
The  three  imprisoned  brothers  were  never  visited  by  Bobadilla, 
nor  allowed  to  see  other  visitors  or  each  other  ;  they  were  not 
allowed  to  communicate  with  each  other.  While  they  were 
imprisoned  and  undergoing  a  mock  trial  with  a  foregone  con 
demnation,  they  were  never  informed  of  the  charges ,  against 
them,  nor  confronted  with  their  accusers,  nor  allowed  to  defend 
themselves.  The  Count  de  Lorgues,  rather  sympathetically 
than  historically,  thus  describes  the  treatment  endured  by  the 
admiral  in  prison  :  "  Columbus  had  on  only  the  light  coat  he  had 
on  at  the  time  of  his  arrest,  and  which  he  used  to  wear  in  the 
heat  of  the  day.  Bobadilla  had  seized  on  all  his  other  clothing, 
even  his  sayo,  or  surtout.  On  the  stone  floor  of  his  dungeon, 
with  the  pains  of  his  rheumatism  and  the  twinges  of  his  gout,  he 
had  to  suffer  cruelly  from  cold  during  the  nights,  for  he  was 
almost  naked — desnudo  en  cuerpo.  His  fare  was  composed  of  the 
most  wretched  stuff." 


ON  COLUMBUS.  439 

Having  secured  his  prisoners,  Bobadilla  then  commenced  the 
inquiry  into  the  late  troubles,  which  he  was  sent  out  primarily 
to  make,  and  which  he  now  made  his  last  work  instead  of  his 
first  ;  and  then,  too,  not  with  the  object  of  proceeding  against 
the  rebels,  but  rather  of  using  the  rebels  against  Columbus  and 
his  brothers.  Everything  was  now  reversed.  Requelme, 
Guevara,  and  their  late  associates  in  rebellion  were  set  at  liberty, 
while  the  admiral  and  his  brothers  were  in  prison  and  in  chains. 
The  accused  now  became  accusers,  and  the  rightful  accusers  were 
condemned  without  a  hearing.  The  judge  now  made  common 
cause  with  rebels,  outlaws,  criminals,  and  vagabonds  of  every 
description.  San  Domingo  became  the  rendezvous  of  all  the 
scoundrels  of  Hispaniola,  and  they  were  invited  to  become  the 
accusers,  the  slanderers,  and  the  libellers  of  their  late  governor. 
Every  offence  taken  by  these  outlaws  at  the  administration  of 
justice  in  their  regard  now  became  a  crime  of  the  admiral,  and 
it  was  he  and  not  the  rebels  that  was  under  investigation.  Some 
accused  him  of  insulting  the  honor  of  Castile  by  compelling  Cas- 
tilian  gentlemen  to  work  ;  others,  of  appropriating  the  pearls  of 
Paria  to  his  private  use,  and  concealing  the  discovery  of  that 
country  in  order  that  he  might  first  enrich  himself  ;  others,  of 
imposing  oppressive  labor,  restricted  and  insufficient  food,  tyran 
nical  conduct,  and  cruel  punishments  on  the  Spaniards,  while  he 
waged  cruel  and  unjust  wars  against  the  natives  ;  and  he  was 
now  even  charged  with  treason,  levying  war  against  the  Spanish 
sovereigns,  and  meditating  an  alliance  and  union  with  some  other 
nation.  Not  one  of  these  charges  had  the  slightest  basis  of 
truth  ;  but  to  the  religious  and  devout  nature  of  Columbus,  the 
most  offensive  of  all  these  odious  and  false  accusations  was  that 
based  upon  his  religiously  and  conscientiously  having  objected 
to  the  baptism  and  reception  into  the  Church  of  adult  Indians 
before  they  had  been  duly  and  sufficiently  instructed  in  the  faith. 
Upon  this  meritorious  conduct  he  was  accused  of  having  pre 
vented  the  conversion  of  the  Indians,  that  he  might  reap  profit 
by  their  enslavement  and  sale  in  the  slave-marts  of  Spain.  An 
other  charge  was  so  contrived  as  to  appeal  to  the  national  pride 
and  prejudices  of  the  Spanish  nation  and  crown  :  his  persecution 
and  punishment  of  the  late  rebels  were  cited  as  acts  of  cruelty 
and  revenge  on  the  part  of  a  foreigner,  and  as  betraying  a  secret 
hatred  of  Spaniards. 


440 


OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 


Bobadilla  had  a  harvest  of  crime  on  the  part  of  Columbus 
already  sowed  and  ripened  for  his  gathering.  He  was  only  too 
ready  to  condemn  Columbus  for  every  crime  and  offence  that 
the  malice  of  his  enemies  or  the  revenge  of  the  offenders  whom 
he  had  punished  could  make  up  against  him.  The  rebels,  now 
recognized  as  loyal  and  orderly  subjects  of  the  crown,  were 
Bobadilla's  friends,  intimates,  and  favored  colleagues  in  the  pre 
concerted  ruin  of  Columbus.  A  mock  trial,  and  in  many  cases 
not  even  the  forms  of  a  trial,  were  sufficient  to  acquit  and  liber 
ate  the  criminals  and  rebels  of  the  island,  and  any  injury  done  to 
the  admiral  merited  rewards  and  honors  at  his  hands.  He  took 
the  criminal  classes  of  Hispaniola  into  his  confidence  and  favor. 
San  Domingo  became  the  rendezvous  of  criminals  and  miscreants. 
Men  of  truth,  loyalty,  and  honor  were  silenced  and  intimidated. 
AH  these  elements  demanded  the  condemnation  of  Columbus. 
All  kinds  of  lampoons,  satires,  scurrilous  songs,  libels,  and  slang 
resounded  through  the  city,  in  the  public  places,  and  even  under 
the  very  windows  of  the  prison  in  which  the  admiral  was  incar 
cerated.  Curses  on  the  head  of  the  admiral  and  praises  of  Boba 
dilla  were  the  sounds  prevailing  in  the  common  atmosphere  of 
the  city  he  had  founded.  The  admiral  wrote,  "  There  was  made 
against  me  a  judicial  inquiry  into  misdeeds  the  like  of  which 
was  never  invented  in  hell."  Little  did  these  unbridled  conspir 
ators,  headed  by  Bobadilla  and  assisted  by  Roldan,  Boil,  and 
Fonseca,  calculate  on  the  danger  they  ran,  from  the  excess  of 
their  malignity,  of  proving  the  innocence  of  their  victim. 

With  an  accumulated  mass  of  testimony,  too  voluminous  to  be 
true  or  consistent,  Bobadilla  rested,  assured  of  his  victim  ;  he 
resolved  to  send  Columbus  and  his  brothers  to  Spain  in  chains, 
on  board  the  caravels  now  nearly  ready  for  sailing  ;  and  he 
would  send  private  letters  of  his  own  urging  his  condemnation 
in  Spain  as  he  had  been  condemned  and  punished  in  Hispaniola, 
insisting  upon  his  guilt,  and  pressing  for  his  permanent  removal 
from  his  offices  and  commands.  He  felt  assured  that  he  had 
secured  thereby  his  own  retention  in  office  and  in  power.  The 
admiral  himself  said  :  "  I  was  never  able  to  speak  with  Boba 
dilla,  and  no  one  was  permitted  to  address  me  a  word  ;  and  I 
take  my  oath  that  I  cannot  imagine  why  I  am  held  a  prisoner." 
And  again  :  "  I  was  arrested  conjointly  with  my  two  brothers, 
confined  in  the  hold  of  a  vessel,  loaded  with  chains,  nearly  naked, 


ON   COLUMBUS.  441 

subjected  to  the  most  infamous  treatment,  without  undergoing 
interrogatories  or  sentence. "  While  Roldan,  Guevara,  Requelme, 
and  their  associates  were  held  up  as  models,  loaded  with  honors, 
favors,  and  privileges,  in  spite  of  their  crimes,  Columbus  was 
arrested,  condemned,  and  loaded  with  chains  in  spite  of  his  inno 
cence  and  his  services.  It  is  not  strange,  when  Columbus  real 
ized  the  lawless  and  brutal  conduct  of  Bobadilla,  that  he  felt  his 
life  was  in  danger.  The  caravels  being  now  ready  for  sea, 
Bobadilla,  hoping  to  ensure  no  leniency  for  his  prisoners  and  to 
gain  favor  with  Fonseca,  appointed  to  command  the  returning 
vessels  Alonzo  de  Villejo,  who  was  a  prottgt  of  Fonseca's  uncle 
in  Spain,  and  while  in  the  employment  of  Fonseca  had  been  sent 
out  in  the  service  of  Bobadilla.  Bobadilla,  a  knight,  a  gentle 
man  by  birth  and  education,  a  commander  of  an  honorable  order, 
a  member  of  the  king's  household,  now  became  the  degraded 
instrument  of  Fonseca,  whom  all  describe  as  an  unworthy  bishop 
and  unfaithful  subject  of  the  crown.  It  was  generally  believed 
and  currently  reported  that  Bobadilla's  violent  conduct,  cruel 
treatment  and  injustice  toward  Columbus  were  instigated  and 
protected  by  Fonseca.  His  selection  of  Villejo,  and  his  ordering 
that  officer  on  arriving  at  Cadiz  to  deliver  Columbus  and  his 
brothers  into  the  hands  of  Fonseca,  his  worst  enemy,  are  facts 
going  far  to  prove  that  Bobadilla  and  Fonseca  were  directly  and 
understandingly  allied  together  in  the  conspiracy  to  ruin  and 
disgrace  Spain's  distinguished  adopted  citizen.  Villejo,  how 
ever,  when  tested,  was  less  brutal  than  his  employers. 

When  Villejo  approached  the  admiral  to  carry  him  to  the 
ship,  he  saw  this  fallen  and  devoted  man  bowed  down  under  the 
weight  of  his  chains  and  of  his  wrongs.  Despairing  of  justice 
and  of  his  life,  and  sorrowing  over  the  ingratitude  of  his  sover 
eigns  ;  grieving  over  the  afflictions  and  disasters  now  in  store 
for  his  sons,  who  could  no  longer  expect  to  remain  as  pages  of 
the  Prince  Don  Juan,  or  to  inherit  his  own  titles,  offices,  and 
estates,  he  was  truly  a  man  of  afflictions.  Immured  in  a  secluded 
and  silent  prison,  the  clangor  of  arms  and  the  tramp  of  soldiers 
startled  the  admiral  from  his  sad  reverie;  and  when  he  saw 
Villejo  at  the  head  of  the  soldiers  he  felt  that  his  end  was  at 
hand.  In  anguish  he  asked,  "  Villejo,  whither  are  you  taking 
me?''  '  To  the  ship,  my  lord,  on  which  we  are  to  embark," 
respectfully  answered  the  young  officer.  "  To  embark  !"  cried 


442  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

the  admiral.  '  Villejo,  is  what  you  tell  me  the  real  truth  ?" 
"  On  my  honor,  my  lord,  it  is  the  truth."  Las  Casas  has  re 
corded  this  colloquy,  having,  no  doubt,  obtained  it  from  Villejo 
himself,  with  whom  he  was  well  acquainted,  and  of  whom  he 
said  :  "  Alonzo  de  Villejo  was  a  hidalgo  of  honorable  character, 
and  my  particular  friend."  His  humane  treatment  of  Columbus 
showed  him  to  have  been  worthy  of  a  better  service. 

Of  the  sailing  of  the  vessels  with  the  admiral  and  viceroy  of 
the  Indies,  the  discoverer  of  the  new  world,  a  prisoner  and  in 
chains,  Mr.  Irving  writes  :  "  The  caravels  set  sail  early  in  Octo 
ber,  bearing  off  Columbus  shackled  like  the  vilest  of  culprits, 
amid  the  scoffs  and  shouts  of  a  miscreant  rabble,  who  took  a 
brutal  joy  in  heaping  insults  on  his  venerable  head,  and  sent 
curses  after  him  from  the  shores  of  the  island  he  had  so  recently 
added  to  the  civilized  world."*  '  The  disciple  of  the  gospel," 
writes  characteristically  the  Count  de  Lorgues,  "  uttered  no 
complaint.  He  remained  silent,  wishing  to  give  an  example  of 
Christian  submission  to  legitimate  authority,  even  when  it  is  de 
ceived  or  abused."  Mr.  Prescott  writes  as  follows  of  this  shame 
less  treatment  of  Columbus  :  "  This  excess  of  malice  served,  as 
usual,  however,  to  defeat  itself.  So  enormous  an  outrage 
shocked  the  minds  of  those  most  prejudiced  against  Columbus. 
All  seemed  to  feel  it  as  a  national  dishonor  that  such  indignities 
should  be  heaped  on  the  man  who,  whatever  might  be  his  indis 
cretions,  had  done  so  much  for  Spain  and  for  the  whole  civil 
ized  world — a  man  who,  in  the  honest  language  of  an  old  writer, 
'  had  he  lived  in  the  days  of  ancient  Greece  or  Rome  would 
have  had  statues  raised  and  temples  and  divine  honors  dedicated 
to  him  as  to  a  divinity.'  '  Mr.  Hubert  Howe  Bancroft  says  he 
was  "  ever  loyal,  high-minded,  and  sincere.  But  were  all  the 
calumnies  true,  twice  told,  which  vile,  revengeful  men  had 
heaped  upon  him,  he  would  not  have  merited  the  treatment  that 
he  now  received  at  the  hand  of  their  Majesties'  agent." 

In  the  beginning  of  October,  1500,  the  two  caravels  commenced 
their  homeward  voyage  to  Spain — a  voyage  at  which  history 
blushes,  humanity  is  shocked,  and  justice  stands  appalled.  To 


*  Irving's  "Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  267;  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  De  Lorgues' 
"  Life  of  Columbus,"  p.  415  ;  Prescott's  "  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  473  I 
H.  H.  Bancroft's  "  History  of  Central  America,"  vol.  i.,  p.  181. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  443 

the  credit  of  the  human  race,  however,  it  is  to  be  related  that 
scarcely  had  the  ships  sailed  out  of  the  harbor  when  Villejo  and 
Andres  Martin,  the  master  of  the  ship,  ' '  another  good  and  loyal 
Spaniard,  who  showed  his  horror  of  the  unjust  treatment  the 
discoverer  of  the  new  world  was  subjected  to,"  *  came  to  the 
admiral,  with  every  expression  and  demonstration  of  respect  and 
reverence,  and  desired  to  remove  his  chains.  '  No, "  said  Colum 
bus  ;  "  I  am  grateful  for  your  good- will  ;  but  I  cannot  consent  to 
what  you  propose.  Their  Majesties  have  written  to  me  to  sub 
mit  to  everything  Bobadilla  might  command  me  in  their  name  ; 
and  it  was  in  their  name  that  he  loaded  me  with  these  chains  ; 
and  I  will  carry  them  until  the  king  and  queen  give  orders  to 
take  them  off.  And  I  will  keep  them  in  future  as  a  monument 
of  the  recompense  bestowed  on  my  services,  "f  Ferdinand 
Columbus,  the  admiral's  second  son  and  his  historian,  wrote 
afterward  :  "  And  I  saw  them  afterward  always  in  his  chamber, 
and  when  he  came  to  die,  he  wished  them  buried  with  him 
beside  his  bones."  $ 

Although  the  weather  was  propitious,  the  voyage  lasted  little 
over  a  month,  and  the  two  high-minded  officers,  Villejo  and 
Martin,  did  all  in  their  power  to  soothe  the  outraged  feelings  of 
the  admiral  and  to  relieve  his  sufferings.  The  heart  and  mind 
of  every  noble  and  just  man,  even  at  this  distant  day,  overlook 
ing  every  minor  detail,  cannot  but  regard  this  voyage  as  one  of 
the  most  unfortunate  and  discreditable  events  in  history,  the 
indignities  heaped  upon  Columbus  as  humiliations  to  our  civili 
zation.  The  two  caravels,  with  the  illustrious  prisoner  on  board 
the  Gorda,  arrived  at  the  harbor  of  Cadiz  on  November  2oth, 
1500. 

The  sensation  caused  by  the  arrival  of  Columbus  in  chains  at 
the  port  of  Cadiz  was  intense — equal  in  degree  to  the  sensations 
of  joy  and  triumph  caused  by  his  return  with  exultation  from  his 
first  voyage,  the  discoverer  of  a  new  world,  but  different  in 
kind  :  it  was  a  feeling  of  indignation,  of  sorrow,  of  shame,  of 
sympathy,  of  reparation.  Whatever  may  have  been  his  faults  or 
even  his  crimes — for  he  had  been  accused  of  almost  every  crime 

*  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  186. 
f  Las  Casas,  "  Hist.  Ind.,"  lib.  i.,  cap.  cixxx.  ;  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's 
"Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.   186. 

J  "  Hist,  del  Almirante,"  cap.  Ixxxvi. 


OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

—nothing  could  justify  in  the  estimation  of  public  opinion  such 
indignities,  such  wrongs  to  so  illustrious  and  meritorious  a  per 
sonage.  From  Cadiz  and  Seville  the  thrill  of  indignation  swept 
over  Spain,  and  from  Spain  it  reached  and  was  re-echoed 
throughout  Europe.  His  enemies  had  overdone  their  cruel  and 
unjust  work.  Had  their  victim  been  guilty,  it  would  have 
been  unnecessary  to  resort  to  such  excesses.  Those  very  ex- 
cesses  of  his  enemies  showed  that  they  constituted  a  preconcerted 
conspiracy  to  condemn  an  innocent  man.  How  could  any  one 
man  have  been  guilty  of  so  many  and  such  heinous  crimes  ! 
A  lifetime  does  not  suffice  to  accomplish  so  much  infamy.  The 
very  rabble  that  so  lately  condemned  him,  without  hearing  him, 
now  turned  all  their  sympathies  on  the  side  of  the  illustrious 
victim.  No  government,  not  even  the  cold  and  selfish  court  of 
Ferdinand,  could  withstand  such  a  reaction.  The  queen  \vas 
indignant,  sorrowed,  and  incensed.  The  impulses  of  the  govern 
ment,  if  impulse  were  possible  with  so  calculating  and  selfish  a 
man  as  Ferdinand,  were  swayed  by  the  irresistible  current  of 
public  sentiment.  The  generous  heart  of  the  queen  inspired  the 
nation  with  a  profound  sympathy  for  Columbus.  The  court  was 
then  sitting  at  Granada,  and  from  the  halls  of  the  Alhambra  the 
wail  of  sorrow,  the  stern  voice  of  indignation,  the  overpowering 
current  of  sympathy  went  forth  to  meet  the  same  sentiments 
surging  forth  from  all  Spain,  and  to  greet  the  illustrious  prisoner 
of  the  Gorda.  Instinctive  justice  had  already  acquitted  him  of 
every  accusation  so  maliciously  made  against  him.  Columbus 
was  then,  as  in  1493,  the  idol  of  the  hour. 

During  the  voyage  Columbus  had  written  a  letter  to  a  noble 
and  generous-hearted  lady  at  the  court,  Donna  Juana  de  la 
Torre,  formerly  the  governess  of  Prince  Juan,  from  which  we 
have  already  derived  and  quoted  many  of  our  statements,  and 
which  was  a  detailed  and  spontaneous  outpouring  of  the  senti 
ments  and  sufferings  of  a  magnanimous  but  wounded  heart. 
While  it  detailed  the  history  of  the  case,  the  events  of  his  admin 
istration,  its  vindication,  the  cruelties,  assumptions,  and  injustice 
of  Bobadilla,  it  also  gave  expression  to  the  anguish  of  his  soul, 
the  sufferings  he  had  endured  in  the  name  of  his  sovereigns,  and 
in  return  for  the  unparalleled  services  he  had  rendered.  This 
admirable  and  remarkable  epistle  was  a  faithful  and  unerring 
mirror  of  a  suffering  soul,  a  word  picture  of  his  indignation  and 


ON  COLUMBUS.  445 

of  his  loyalty  ;  and  though,  in  the  agitation  of  the  moment,  it 
may  appear  in  parts  to  be  somewhat  confused  and  disarranged,  it  is 
the  more  valuable  on  that  account,  as  containing  intrinsic  proofs  of 
its  truth  and  honesty.  The  recipient  of  this  letter,  being  a  favor 
ite  of  the  queen  and  a  member  of  her  household,  and  possessing 
a  just  and  generous  soul,  was  not  slow  in  placing  it  in  the  hands 
of  Isabella,  and  thus  the  king  also  read  the  story  of  a  great  man's 
wrongs.  This  letter  the  admiral  was  permitted  by  Andres 
Martin,  the  captain  of  the  Gorda,  to  send  off  at  once  to  the  court 
by  secret  express.  Copious  extracts  have  been  made  by  the 
biographers  of  the  admiral  from  this  interesting  letter.  We  shall 
confine  ourselves  to  a  few  leading  sentences,  and  first  of  all  we 
will  give  the  opening  sentence  :  ' '  Although  it  is  not  usual  for 
me  to  complain  of  the  world,  it  is  none  the  less  true  that  its  prac 
tice  of  ill-treating  me  is  very  ancient  ;  it  has  attacked  me  in  a 
thousand  combats,  and  I  have  always  resisted  until  the  present 
moment,  when  arms  and  counsel  have  been  unable  to  aid  me,  and 
it  has  thrown  me  to  the  bottom  in  an  extremely  cruel  manner." 

His  hopeful  trust  in  Heaven  is  thus  expressed  in  this  letter  : 
"  Hope  in  Him  who  created  us  sustains  me  ;  His  help  has  been 
ever  at  hand.  On  another  occasion,  not  long  ago,  being  still 
more  cast  down,  extending  His  divine  hand,  He  raised  me  up 
and  said  to  me,  '  Man  of  little  faith,  be  comforted  ;  what  fearest 
thou,  when  I  am  with  thee  ?  ' 

The  following  passage  relates  to  the  Spanish  sovereigns  :  "  I 
was  led  to  serve  those  princes  by  the  strongest  attachment,  and 
have  rendered  them  unheard-of  services.  God  made  me  the 
messenger  of  the  new  sky  and  the  new  earth.  .  .  .  Every 
one  was  incredulous  ;  but  God  gave  my  lady  the  queen  the  spirit 
of  understanding,  and  bestowed  on  her  the  necessary  courage, 
and  endowed  her,  as  a  beloved  daughter,  with  the  inheritance 
of  this  new  world.  .  .  .  And  now  I  have  reached  the  point 
that  from  the  most  exalted  to  the  vilest  of  living  men  there  is 
none  but  seeks  to  revile  me  ;  but  the  day  will  come  when,  thanks 
be  to  God,  this  will  be  told  to  the  world,  and  my  traducers  will 
be  held  in  detestation.  If  I  had  pillaged  the  Indies  and  given 
them  to  the  Moors,  I  should  not  have  been  more  hated  in  Spain." 
Further  extracts  from  this  important  document  will  prove  inter 
esting,  as  giving  expression  in  his  own  words  against  the  injus 
tice  he  received  from  the  world. 


446  OLD  AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

"  They  have  tried  to  give  me  so  bad  a  name,  that  if  I  build 
churches  and  hospitals,  they  will  call  them  dens  of  robbers. 

"  I  could  very  well  have  prevented  all  that  t  have  related  that 
befell  me  since  I  came  to  the  Indies,  if  I  had  attended  solely  to 
my  personal  interest,  if  that  would  have  been  becoming  ;  but 
I  am  undone  because  I  have  always  maintained  justice  and  en 
larged  their  Highnesses'  dominions. 

"  Intrigues  and  calumny  have  done  me  more  harm  than  all 
my  labors  have  benefited  me,  as  an  example  for  the  present  and 
for  future  generations  !." 

He  then  mentions  the  manner  in  which  Bobadilla  had  manu 
factured  worthless  and  perjured  testimony  against  him,  and  ex 
presses  his  willingness  to  have  had  a  just  and  honorable  man  sent 
out  to  investigate  his  administration,  whereas  Bobadilla  was  an 
implacable  enemy.  He  indignantly  refutes  the  trumped-up 
charge  of  his  entertaining  a  design  of  giving  over  the  Indies  to 
some  other  nation  ;  he  speaks  of  the  unfairness  of  judging  him 
in  his  new  and  unprecedented  position  by  the  same  standards 
that  would  be  applicable  to  ordinary  governors  in  old  and  settled 
countries,  and  speaks  of  his  dominion  in  a  newly  discovered 
heathen  and  savage  land  without  cities  or  treaties,  and  of  his 
having  changed  the  fortunes  of  Spain  from  one  of  poverty  to 
that  of  "  the  richest  empire  in  the  world."  He  declares  his  pur 
pose  of  proceeding  anew  in  the  track  of  his  first  voyage,  or  of 
what  he  had  written  of  going  to  Arabia  Felix  as  far  as  Mecca 
and  thence  to  the  North  Pole,  and  concludes  with  the  following 
warning  sentence  :  ' '  God,  our  Lord,  retains  His  wisdom  and 
power,  and  punishes  ingratitude  in  a  special  manner." 

It  is  generally  regarded  as  an  effect  of  the  general  public  senti 
ment  now  turned  in  favor  of  Columbus,  that  led  Ferdinand  to 
unite  with  the  queen  in  making  it  known  that  Bobadilla  had  not 
only  exceeded  but  had  disobeyed  his  instructions,  and  that  they 
had  now  disavowed  his  cruelties  to  the  admiral.  Having  read 
the  latter's  letter  to  Donna  Juana  de  la  Torre,  they  did  not  wait 
for  the  arrival  of  Bobadilla's  dispatches,  but  sent  immediately 
and  commanded  the  distinguished  prisoners,  Columbus  and  his 
brothers,  to  be  set  free,  and  all  deference  extended  to  them. 
They  also  addressed  a  personal  letter  to  the  admiral,  full  of  sym 
pathy  and  affection  for  him,  expressing  their  indignation  at  the 
indignities  and  cruelties  inflicted  upon  him,  inviting  him  to  court, 


ON   COLUMBUS.  447 

and  sending  him  two  thousand  ducats  to  enable  him  to  maintain 
the  dignity  and  style  suited  to  his  rank  when  he  appeared  at 
court.  On  December  2Oth  he  presented  himself  before  the  sov 
ereigns  at  Granada  in  the  brilliant  and  courtly  dress  of  his  ex 
alted  station,  and  accompanied  by  his  brothers  and  a  retinue  cor 
responding  to  his  dignities  and  offices.  Received  by  the  king 
and  queen  with  unbounded  sympathy  and  honor,  the  queen 
moved  to  tears  at  the  sight  of  him,  the  admiral  was  overwhelmed 
with  his  own  feelings  and  sank  upon  his  knees,  bathed  in  tears 
and  unable  to  utter  a  word.  Raised  up  from  the  ground  by  his 
sovereigns,  and  reassured  by  their  kindness  and  generosity, 
Columbus  made  an  eloquent,  unanswerable,  and  convincing  de 
fence  of  his  conduct  and  administration — a  vindication  which 
brought  forth  the  most  earnest  assurances  of  indemnification  for 
his  wrongs,  and  restoration  of  his  rights,  privileges,  and  powers. 
A  few  days  later  he  had  a  private  interview  with  the  queen,  at 
which  both  shed  copious  tears,  and  at  which  he  received  from 
this  noble  lady  assurances  which  soothed  his  wounded  heart  and 
went  far  to  restore  his  hopeful  spirits.  Though  greatly  re 
lieved  in  his  mind  by  the  earnest  and  ample  assurances  of  the 
sovereigns,  Columbus  knew  well  the  necessity  for  securing  his 
rights  by  some  official  and  written  acts.  Hence  he  addressed  a 
petition  to  the  council  a  few  days  later,  in  which  he  recounted 
the  history  of  his  relations  with  Spain  and  its  rulers,  of  his  com 
pact  with  the  sovereigns,  of  his  great  discoveries  and  achieve 
ments,  of  his  administration,  and  of  the  injustice,  ingratitude, 
and  indignities  received  from  Bobadilla.  He  appealed  to 
the  members  of  the  council  for  the  just  performance  of  the 
royal  agreements  with  him.  He  reminded  the  council  of  his 
having,  after  long  delays  in  Spain,  given  the  sovereigns  the 
preference  in  the  offer  of  the  discovery  and  conquest  of  the 
Indies  over  other  nations,  just  at  the  time  when  Portugal,  France, 
and  England  had  become  desirous  of  securing  him  to  their  ser 
vice  and  of  realizing  the  glories  then  possessed  solely  by  Spain  ; 
and  then  with  fervent  piety  he  says  :  "  Then  our  Saviour  or 
dained  the  route  for  me.  I  have  placed  under  the  power  of  their 
Highnesses  lands  larger  than  Africa  and  Europe.  There  is 
reason  to  hope  that  the  Holy  Church  will  prosper  wonderfully 
by  it.  In  seven  years  I  have,  by  the  divine  will,  accomplished 
this  conquest.  At  the  moment  that  I  hoped  to  obtain  recom- 


448  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

penses  and  repose,  I  was  suddenly  seized  and  put  in  irons, 
to  the  detriment  of  my  honor,  and  the  service  of  their  High 
nesses." 

It  would  seem  scarcely  necessary  to  defend  Columbus  against 
the  charges  made  against  him  by  Bobadilla  and  his  minions. 
The  haste,  the  animosity,  the  indecent  turmoil  and  disorder, 
used  and  availed  of  by  his  enemies  to  suborn  witnesses  of  no  re 
spectability  or  character  ;  the  degraded  type  of  the  witnesses 
whose  depositions  were  taken,  their  criminality,  their  hostility 
to  Columbus  on  account  of  the  stern  justice  he  or  his  brothers 
were  compelled  to  administer  toward  them  ;  the  intrigues  and 
conspiracies  against  him  by  officials  in  Spain  co-operating  with 
rebels  and  criminals  in  Hispaniola ;  the  prejudices  which  were 
fomented  against  him,  and  the  shallow  and  reckless  character 
and  conduct  of  Bobadilla — all  united  in  depriving  his  accusers  and 
their  accusations  of  every  vestige  of  force  or  respectability. 
Some  historians  have  thought  that  the  fact  of  his  not  having  been 
immediately  returned  to  Hispaniola  as  viceroy,  and  with  the 
full  restoration  of  his  rights,  dignities,  and  powers,  was  evidence 
of  his  incapacity  for  the  government  and  administration  of  the 
colonies  he  had  founded,  and  that  he  was  so  regarded  by  the 
Spanish  sovereigns  ;  but  there  are  other  explanations  of  this 
fact  which  are  indisputable.  While  the  Spanish  sovereigns  an 
nulled  the  acts  of  Bobadilla,  the  administrative  regulations  of 
Columbus  were  re-enacted  and  again  put  in  force  even  under 
Bobadilla's  successor.  They  became  the  accepted  policy  of  the 
Spanish  rule  in  Hispaniola.  It  is  also  a  significant  fact  that  both 
of  the  admiral's  immediate  successors,  with  the  power  and  sup 
port  of  the  Spanish  sovereigns  at  their  backs,  signally  failed  in 
their  administrations,  and  the  condition  of  affairs  under  them 
became  worse  than  before.  It  was  a  marvel  of  success  that 
Columbus,  with  his  own  Spanish  colonists  and  soldiers  in  rebel 
lion  against  his  authority,  instead  of  receiving  their  needed  sup 
port,  and  with  the  native  tribes  incited  by  the  Spaniards  them 
selves  to  repeated  outbreaks  and  revolts,  and  without  ships  or 
soldiers  worthy  of  the  name,  yet  by  his  prudent  action  main 
tained  to  the  last  the  integrity  of  the  Spanish  Empire  in  the  new 
world.  Wise  and  necessary  concessions  proved  the  safety  of  the 
empire. 

While  the  complaints  made  by  Bobadilla  and  his  confederates 


ON   COLUMBUS.  449 

were  almost  countless,  they  may  be  substantially  classified,  as 
the  learned  Tarducci  has  stated,  under  three  principal  heads  : 
"  i.  Inflexible  harshness  and  cruelty  ;  2.  Attempts  on  the  free 
dom  of  the  Indians  ;  and  3.  Want  of  administrative  knowledge 
and  capacity."*  While  the  great  majority  of  historians  have 
acquitted  him  of  all  these  accusations,  there  seems  to  be  a  ten 
dency  on  the  part  of  a  few  more  modern  authors,  such  as  Pres- 
cott  and  Hubert  Howe  Bancroft,  perhaps  following  some  of 
those  who  in  the  lifetime  of  Ferdinand  and  Charles  V.  thought 
they  could  only  defend  the  conduct  of  the  king  by  accusing 
Columbus,  to  give  some  justification  to  the  charge  of  incapacity 
for  governmental  administration.  Still  later  Justin  Winsor  re 
vives  the  charge,  but  does  not  strengthen  it.  But  a  careful 
study  of  the  case  must  convince  all  just  and  discreet  judges  that 
in  this  very  particular  the  career  of  Columbus  stands  forth  as 
pre-eminently  wise  and  prudent,  even  though  the  overpowering 
opposition  against  him  deprived  his  administration  of  the  success 
it  so  well  merited.  To  have  saved  the  first  European  colony  in 
America,  while  all  was  done  both  in  Europe  and  America  to 
destroy  it,  was  a  triumph  of  Columbus's  administration. 

In  regard  to  the  first  charge  of  excessive  cruelty,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  facts  here  show  results  strongly  in  favor  of  and 
utterly  vindicating  the  admiral.  Gentleness  and  kindness  were 
among  the  most  marked  features  of  his  character.  The  measures 
of  compelling  the  cavaliers  to  labor  on  the  public  works  and  to 
accept  restricted  allowances  of  food  were  so  necessary  for  the 
preservation  of  their  own  health  and  lives,  as  well  as  those  of 
the  colonists  in  general,  and  so  indispensable  for  the  prevention 
of  want  and  famine  in  the  colony,  that  they  became  measures  of 
mercy  rather  than  of  cruelty.  Of  their  justice  who  can  doubt, 
when  it  is  considered  how,  in  the  face  of  common  dangers,  all 
men  become  equal,  and  the  values  of  human  life  and  health  can 
not  be  measured  by  the  standards  of  rank  or  station?  Privileges 
to  a  few,  when  all  were  equally  menaced,  would  have  been  signal 
cruelties  to  all.  Even  apart  from  the  general  sufferings  and 
dangers  from  the  diseases  of  the  climate  and  the  want  of 
food,  the  condition  of  the  first  colony  of  civilization,  cast  amid 
a  savage  race  in  a  state  of  nature,  would  not  permit  of  the 


Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  198. 


450  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

social  and  official  distinctions  of  old,  civilized  communities. 
An  infant  cannot  endure  the  advanced  and  artificial  condition 
and  treatment  of  manhood.  It  need  only  be  added  that  Co 
lumbus,  when  privations  were  to  be  endured,  was  the  first 
to  set  the  example  of  endurance.  Was  it  a  degradation  of 
his  rank  as  admiral  and  viceroy  that  he  kept  the  watches  of  the 
night  on  ship-board  when  he  discovered  the  first  land  of  the  new 
world  ? 

Other  specifications  under  the  charge  of  cruelty  related  to  his 
treatment  of  Bernal  Diaz,  the  instructions  he  sent  to  Pedro  Mar- 
garite,  and  the  execution  of  Adrian  Moxica.  To  be  sent  to  Spain 
for  trial,  as  was  the  rebel  Diaz,  was  surely  mild  treatment  toward 
a  Spaniard  guilty  not  only  of  treason  against  the  new  colony 
and  his  sovereigns,  but  of  treason  against  civilization  itself.  The 
execution  of  Moxica  was  the  act  of  Roldan,  not  of  Columbus  ; 
but  what  less  punishment  could  have  reached  the  case  of  a  mis 
creant  waging  open  war  in  a  distant  Spanish  colony  upon  his 
associates,  his  sovereigns,  and  his  country  ?  The  decree  of  death 
against  Indians  guilty  of  theft  was  but  the  fulfilment  of  the  law 
of  the  Indian  race  itself,  for  it  was  with  death  they  punished 
that  crime.  The  very  exigencies  of  the  situation  in  Hispaniola 
demanded  it,  since  stealing  from  the  Spaniards  had  then  become 
the  prevailing  occupation  of  the  Indians.  Bartholomew  Colum 
bus  is  universally  recognized  as  a  just  man,  but  he  was  stern  and 
inflexible  in  administering  justice.  While  the  admiral  was  un 
justly  censured  for  many  of  the  severe  acts  of  the  Adelantado, 
it  is  no  disparagement  to  the  character  of  the  latter  to  say  that 
the  admiral  was  characteristically  mild,  gentle,  and  even  lenient 
compared  to  his  stern  but  honest  brother,  the  faithful,  just,  and 
honest  Adelantado. 

While,  under  the  second  charge  of  enslaving  the  Indians,  we 
do  not  purpose  defending  the  acts  of  Columbus  in  sending  Indians 
as  slaves  to  Spain  upon  the  intrinsic  merits  of  these  acts,  we 
know  and  must  maintain  that  this  was  not  the  crime  of  Colum 
bus,  but  that  of  the  age  and  people  with  whom  he  was  identified, 
and  for  whom  he  acted.  Columbus  never  owned  any  Indian 
slaves  himself,  and  while  his  accusers  and  his  enemies  were 
cruelly  and  unjustly  seizing  and  enslaving  Indians  on  their  own 
private  accounts,  he  was  eminently  known  for  his  noble  stand 
taken  for  restricting  Indian  slavery  to  such  only  as  were  taken 


ON  COLUMBUS.  451 

prisoners  in  war  or  convicted  of  some  grave  crime.  The  slaves 
he  sent  to  Spain  were  the  property  of  the  crown,  and  not  his 
own.  While  he  and  his  sons  and  brothers  possessed  no  slaves, 
which  they  could  have  readily  acquired  without  limit,  as 
others  were  doing,  his  arch-enemy  in  Spain,  Fonseca  himself, 
was  the  owner  of  two  hundred  human  victims  of  slavery. 
One  of  his  bitterest  enemies,  Ojeda,  sold  in  the  slave  markets 
of  Spain  droves  of  Indian  slaves,  whom  he  had  ruthlessly 
seized  in  his  ferocious  raids.  Christian  and  civilized  nations 
at  that  time  generally,  if  not  universally,  practised  the  nefari 
ous  custom  of  reducing  infidels  to  slavery,  and  Spain  was 
conspicuous  in  this  cruel  policy  ;  for  during  the  Moorish 
war  thousands  of  Mohammedans  were  forced  into  slavery, 
and  from  a  single  city  as  many  as  eleven  thousand  men, 
women,  and  children  were  led  into  slavery.  Of  all  the  Spaniards 
of  any  note  engaged  in  the  conquest  of  Hispaniola,  few  were 
without  their  slaves,  and  even  Isabella  was  a  participator  in 
human  slavery  ;  for,  as  Tarducci  states,  "  only  five  months  before 
Christopher  Columbus  landed  a  prisoner  in  Spain,  the  queen 
signed  at  Seville  a  contract  with  the  navigator,  Rodrigo  de  Bas- 
tides,  by  which  she  reserved  to  herself  the  fourth  part  of  the 
slaves  he  might  capture  on  the  voyage  he  was  going  to  under 
take  for  further  discoveries  in  the  new  world  ;"*  and  on  October 
3Oth,  1503,  she  authorized  the  Spanish  discoverers  to  make  slaves 
of  all  the  cannibals  they  might  seize  in  the  Caribbean  Islands, 
with  the  view  of  their  subsequent  conversion  ;  and  yet  Isabella 
personally  was  an  opponent  of  human  slavery.  Columbus 
actually  prevented  more  Indians  from  being  enslaved  than  he 
was  instrumental  in  enslaving,  under  the  policy  and  custom  of 
the  country  and  the  age  which  he  represented,  and  for  whose 
faults  he  is  charged.  The  names  of  Las  Casas,  Isabella,  and 
Columbus,  notwithstanding  the  toleration  of  slavery  by  their  age 
and  country,  are  distinguished  as  friends  of  the  Indians,  advocates 
of  their  liberty,  and  enemies  of  human  slavery. 

It  has  been  asserted  that  Columbus  opposed  the  conversion  of 
the  Indians  to  Christianity — a  charge  based  upon  his  just  and 
conscientious  opposition  to  the  baptism  of  certain  Indians.  This 
accusation  is  refuted  by  the  fact  that  his  opposition  in  this  case 


*  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  201. 


452  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

was  grounded  on  the  circumstance  that  the  Indians  themselves 
had  received  no  instruction  in  the  faith,  were  not  prepared  to 
receive  the  sacrament  understandingly  and  with  due  reverence, 
and  were  liable  again,  consequently,  to  relapse  into  barbarism  and 
paganism.  While  some  of  the  missionaries  were  imprudently 
and  over-zealously  receiving  such  converts  on  their  first  and 
unstable  request,  Columbus,  through  a  well-guided  zeal  for  re 
ligion,  on  the  contrary,  opposed  these  wholesale,  indiscriminate, 
and  premature  conversions.  "  His  manner  of  treating  the 
Indians,"  says  Tarducci,  "  was  always  paternal.  He  recognized 
in  the  children  of  the  forests  his  brethren  in  Jesus  Christ.  He 
loved  them  because  he  had  discovered  them  in  order  to  bring 
them  under  the  sweet  yoke  of  the  gospel."  * 

While  it  has  been  charged  that  Columbus  was  the  founder  of 
the  unjust  system  of  Spanish  repartimientos,  and  even  Prescott 
and  Irving  state  that  this  virtual  enslavement  of  the  Indians 
originated  in  the  measures  of  Columbus  growing  out  of  his 
treaties  with  Roldan  and  the  rebels,  still  it  is  demonstrable  that 
it  was  not  Columbus,  but  Bobadilla,  that  introduced  the  repar 
timientos  in  Hispaniola  and  in  America,  and  that  this  system  was 
not  originated  by  any  measures  of  Columbus,  did  not  legitimately 
flow  from  them,  but  were  rather  the  abuse  and  perversion  of 
them.  The  grant  by  Columbus  to  Roldan  and  the  rebels  of  the 
privilege  of  receiving  into  their  service,  for  the  cultivation  of 
their  lands,  certain  Indians  under  assignment  by  their  caciques, 
though  a  measure  forced  from  him  by  the  helpless  condition 
in  which  he  was  placed,  affected  only  the  services  of  the 
Indians,  not  their  persons.  '  What  he  did  permit,"  says  an 
intelligent  writer,  ' '  was,  first,  the  forced  labor  of  prisoners  of 
war  ;  and,  secondly,  the  commutation  of  tribute  in  gold  or  in 
produce  into  labor,  to  be  furnished  by  the  caciques,  who  were 
to  order  their  subjects  to  help  on  the  public  works  for  one  or 
two  days  in  the  week,  while  remaining  all  the  time  free  subjects 
of  their  own  native  princes  ;  to  pay  in  labor,  instead  of  the  prod 
uce  of  labor,  the  taxes  which  these  princes  had  a  right  to  claim. 
The  arrangement,  as  it  was  made  and  understood  by  Columbus, 
constituted  no  infringement  of  personal  liberty.  The  repar 
timientos,  on  the  other  hand,  were  distributions  of  Indians  simply 


*  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  Count  de  Lorgues'  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  p.  422. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  453 

as  Indians,  without  any  pretence  of  either  penal  servitude  or 
feudal  service,  and  they  were  the  invention  not  of  Columbus, 
the  accused,  but  of  Bobadilla,  the  accuser."  *  Tarducci,  after 
reviewing  the  whole  subject  with  manifest  learning  and  impar 
tiality,  concludes  with  saying  :  "  His  pretended  attempts,  there 
fore,  on  the  freedom  of  the  Indians,  considering  the  times  and 
the  opinions  and  customs  then  in  vogue  regarding  the  enslave 
ment  of  the  Indians,  amount  to  nothing."  f  • 

The  third  principal  charge  made  by  his  enemies  against  Colum 
bus,  and  one  which,  no  doubt,  made  the  most  impression  on  the 
selfish  mind  of  King  Ferdinand,  was  that  he  possessed  no  capac 
ity  for  administration  or  government.  While  this  charge  seems 
to  be,  in  more  recent  times,  espoused  or  at  least  countenanced 
by  authors  of  standing  and  authority,  my  own  investigation  of 
the  facts  and  circumstances  has  led  me  to  the  conviction,  sus 
tained  by  the  most  thorough  students  and  investigators  of  the 
history  of  Columbus  and  his  times,  that  it  is  as  destitute  of  truth 
and  justice  as  the  others.  The  admiral  himself,  in  his  letter  to 
the  governess  of  Prince  Juan,  shows  that  the  standard  by 
which  his  administration  was  judged  and  condemned  by  his 
enemies,  as  well  as  by  the  court  historians  of  his  day,  and  by 
their  followers  in  our  day,  was  not  a  true  or  fair  standard.  The 
history  of  the  world  had  never  presented  the  case  of  a  gov 
ernor  or  viceroy  placed  in  circumstances  of  so  peculiar  a 
character  as  those  by  which  Columbus  was  surrounded  in 
Hispaniola.  Civilization  and  barbarism  were  suddenly  brought 
face  to  face  ;  the  law  of  the  case  must  necessarily  be  the 
will  of  the  governor  evoked  in  each  case  by  its  peculiar 
circumstances  ;  and  yet  his  accusers  applied  to  him  and 
judged  him  by  the  laws,  customs,  situation,  and  conditions 
then  prevailing  in  old,  peaceful,  well-regulated  countries.  No 
one  saw  the  difficulties  of  Columbus  more  clearly  than  he 
did,  nor  pointed  them  out  as  he  did,  nor  with  consummate  wis 
dom,  prudence,  and  ability  suggested  the  remedies.  He  never 
concealed  the  disasters  and  evils  of  the  case,  but  he  indicated 
to  his  sovereigns,  in  repeated  communications  and  in  the  most 


*  "Life   of  Columbus,"   by  Rev.  A.  G.  Knight,  S.  J.,  186  ;  Brownson's   Tarducci, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  203. 

f  Brownson's  Tarducci,  vol.  ii.,  p.  203. 


454  OLD  AND  NEW 

earnest  and  urgent  manner,  how,  and  how  alone,  they  could  be 
remedied.  Had  his  recommendations  been  acceded  to,  had  his 
constant  demands  been  granted  and  failure  had  followed,  even 
then  the  want  of  success  could  only  have  resulted  from  the  oppo 
sition,  conspiracies,  rebellions,  and  crimes  of  the  people  and 
country  he  was  called  upon  to  govern.  Spanish  administration 
in  America  was  thwarted  and  defeated  by  the  Spaniards  them 
selves  in  America.  But  his  recommendations  in  every  instance 
and  in  every  extreme  emergency  were  disregarded  by  the  Span 
ish  crown.  At  the  verv  moment  when  his  administration  needed 

J 

support,  he  was  treated  with  vacillation,  injustice,  arid  desertion. 
If,  instead  of  sending  out  a  Bobadilla  and  a  well-equipped  fleet 
at  his  service,  the  crown  had  sent  out  the  same  ships,  soldiers, 
and  supplies  to  Columbus,  and  had  sustained  by  all  their  power 
his  administration,  he,  and  he  alone,  could  have  averted  the  dis 
asters  and  misfortunes  which  resulted  from  the  administrations 
of  his  successors,  Bobadilla  and  Ovando.  It  is  difficult  to  say 
whether  he  displayed  greater  wisdom  and  prudence  in  the  con 
cessions  he  made  on  some  occasions,  or  in  the  firmness  and 
severity  he  exerted  at  others.  That  he  succeeded  in  preserving 
even  his  own  life,  and  in  preventing  absolute  collapse  of  the 
Spanish  dominion  in  the  new  world,  in  the  extremities  to  which 
he  was  reduced,  seems  to  me  like  the  achievement  of  moral  and 
physical  courage,  and  the  triumph  of  will  blended  with  manage 
ment  over  countless  evils  and  implacable  enemies.  The  vindica 
tion  of  Columbus  is  strengthened  by  the  more  signal  failures  of 
those  who  were  sent,  with  every  preparation  and  with  unstinted 
means,  to  remedy  the  state  of  things  he  was  accused  of  causing  ; 
by  the  re-enactment  by  the  government  of  the  very  rules  and 
remedies  which  he  had  in  vain  endeavored  to  induce  it  to  sus 
tain  in  his  case.  A  spirited  paragraph  from  the  work  of  Father 
Knight  ably  sums  up  the  result  of  this  accusation  :  "  He  has 
been  accused  of  incapacity  for  government,  but  the  proofs  are 
not  satisfactory.  Success  and  failure  are  not  infallible  indica 
tions  of  virtue  ;  and  if  they  were,  Columbus  might  bear  even  the 
test,  for,  with  the  same  unmanageable  materials,  his  successors 
failed  more  fatally  than  he.  Bobadilla  was  carrying  all  things 
to  destruction  when  his  short  reign  terminated.  Ovando  kept 
the  Spaniards  in  some  kind  of  order,  but  it  was  by  ruthlessly 
sacrificing  the  Indians.  He  has  been  blamed  for  choosing  bad 


ON   COLUMBUS.  455 

officers,  as,  lor  example,  Pedro  Margarite  and  Roldan,  betraying 
thereby  ignorance  of  character.  What,  then,  shall  we  say  of 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  who  chose  Aguado,  Bobadilla,  Ovando, 
Fonseca  and  Soria  ?  Even  the  most  imprudent  of  all  his  public 
acts — the  transportation  of  criminals  to  the  colony — had  large 
excuse  in  the  crying  necessities  of  the  occasion.  Few  men, 
indeed,  perhaps  only  saints,  have  escaped  like  Columbus  with 
unwounded  conscience  from  such  tumultuous  scenes."  * 

The  great  enterprise  of  Columbus  and  his  relations  to  the  new 
world  he  had  discovered  were  seriously  affected  by  the  action 
of  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  in  authorizing  various  voyages  of  dis 
covery  to  the  regions  embraced  in  that  enterprise  and  pro 
tected  as  his  exclusive  right  to  him  by  his  chartered  conven 
tions  with  them.  This  authorization,  general  in  its  extent  as 
it  was  dishonest  in  its  principles,  was  issued  by  proclama 
tion  in  1495,  though,  in  consequence  of  the  admiral's  strong  pro 
tests,  not  published  till  June  2d,  1497.  The  expedition  of  Ojeda, 
in  1499,  was  one  of  those  unjustly  authorized  voyages.  It  has 
already  been  noticed  in  these  pages.  It  was  no  better  than 
authorized  piracy  both  on  the  part  of  Ojeda  and  the  crown. 
Soon  afterward  Pedro  Alonzo  Nino  crossed  the  Atlantic,  coasted 
along  Cuba  and  Paria,  and  returned  to  Europe  with  immense 
stores  of  pearls  and  gold,  obtained  in  exchange  for  European 
trifles.  So  also  the  Pinzons  crossed  the  ocean  in  December, 
1499  ;  and  the  squadron  under  Vicente  Yanez  Pinzon  was  the 
first  to  cross  the  equator  in  the  western  part  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  and  having  discovered  a  region  extending  from  the 
Amazon  to  St.  Augustin  in  Brazil,  he  received  a  commission  to 
colonize  and  govern  that  vast  territory.  The  voyage  of  Diego 
de  Lepe,  from  Palos,  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  a  larger  por 
tion  of  Brazil,  while  in  October,  1500,  Rodrigo  Bastides  sailed 
irom  Cadiz,  and  explored  the  coasts  of  Santa  Maria  and  the  Rio 
Grande.  He  was  forced  to  make  for  Xaragua  in  consequence 
of  the  worm-eaten  condition  of  his  ships,  marched  overland  to 
San  Domingo,  was  arrested  by  Bobadilla,  and  finally  reached 
Spain  in  poverty  and  despair.  But  maritime  England  had 
^eclipsed  these  early  voyages  made  mostly  but  not  wholly  by 
the  companions  of  Columbus  on  his  first  voyage  ;  for  it  was  in 


"  Life  of  Columbus,"  by  Rev.  Arthur  George  Knight,  p.  187. 


456  OLD   AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

1494  that  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot  planted  the  English  flag  on 
the  soil  of  North  America,  which  they  had  discovered.  In  the 
mean  time,  Portugal  carried  her  flag  around  Africa  to  the  East 
Indies,  under  Vasco  de  Gama ;  and  without  knowing  of  the  dis 
coveries  of  Lepe  and  Pinzon,  Cabral  again  discovered  Brazil  for 
Portugal,  which,  as  it  was  east  of  the  altered  line  of  demarcation 
and  division  between  Spain  and  Portugal,  became  the  permanent 
conquest  of  the  latter.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  while  Colum 
bus,  seeking  a  northwest  passage  to  Asia,  discovered  America, 
so  also  Cabral,  seeking  the  East  Indies,  discovered  Brazil.  The 
map  of  the  world  was  thus  being  drawn  by  heroic  lines  under 
the  lead  of  one  who  in  younger  days  had  delineated  its  then 
limited  and  denned  outlines  on  maps  prepared  by  his  own  hand. 
Ferdinand,  ever  wary  and  watchful,  thought  of  counteracting 
the  advances  of  other  nations  in  the  western  continent  by  a  grand 
scheme  of  imperial  colonization  and  government,  embracing  local 
administrations  in  the  various  countries  discovered  and  settled, 
with  a  central  and  superior  seat  of  government  at  San  Domingo. 
Columbus  saw  in  this  vast  plan  of  empire  the  first  step  toward 
realizing  the  boundless  value  and  importance  of  his  discovery  in 
fraud  of  his  chartered  privileges,  and  with  that  sagacity  which 
distinguished  him  he  demanded  now,  more  than  ever,  the  full 
restoration  of  his  rights,  privileges,  and  offices.  To  this  act  of 
justice  he  was  entitled,  because  he  had  made  the  first  and  actual 
discovery,  and  all  others  had  profited  by  his  exploits,  followed 
his  courses,  copied  his  charts,  and  used  his  information.  But  to 
the  selfish  mind  of  Ferdinand  the  whole  matter  resolved  itself 
into  the  question,  why  bestow  on  the  admiral,  or  'upon  any  one 
subject,  even  though  he  had  given  a  new  world  to  Spain,  at  an 
immense  cost  of  grants  and  prerogatives,  what  so  many  were 
now  seeking  permission  to  avail  themselves  of  without  expense  to 
the  crown  ?  There  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  Ferdinand  de 
termined  to  deprive  Columbus  and  his  descendants  of  all  he  had 
so  nobly  won.  The  temporary  suspension  of  his  concessions 
and  offices  by  the  appointment  of  Bobadilla  afforded  him  the 
opportunity,  and  the  numerous  offers  of  experienced  navigators 
to  make  voyages  of  discovery  and  colonization  at  their  own  ex 
pense  presented  to  him  the  sordid  motive.  In  fact,  his  wily 
nature  had  long  ago  shrunk  from  a  just  recognition  of  the  ser 
vices  of  Columbus.  He  now  disguised  his  purpose,  and  under 


ON   COLUMBUS.  457 

the  pretext  of  acting  for  the  benefit  of  the  admiral,  in  waiting  for 
the  subsidence  of  disaffection  in  Hispaniola,  and  in  simply  post 
poning  his  return  to  his  viceroyal  government  to  a  more  pro 
pitious  moment,  after  the  lapse  of  only  two  years,  the  treacherous 
king  appointed  Don  Nicholas  de  Ovando,  a  commander  in  the 
Order  of  Alcantara,  as  Governor  of  Hispaniola,  to  succeed  the 
unworthy  and  incompetent  Bobadilla,  both  unworthy  substitutes 
for  the  rightful  governor. 

In  the  mean  time,  all  public  and  private  interests  in  Hispaniola 
had  been  hastened  to  ruin  by  the  governor.  Bobadilla  had 
proved  himself  at  once  a  weak  and  grasping  man,  seizing  powers 
he  was  too  feeble  to  hold,  granting  licenses  he  was  unable  to 
restrain,  conceding  to  all  rebels  and  criminals  the  lands  he  did 
not  own,  permitting  unlimited  working  and  robbing  of  the  mines, 
and  compelling  the  poor  Indians  to  toil  for  gold  to  hand  over  to 
their  cruel  taskmasters.  The  only  injunction  he  bestowed  upon 
his  followers  was  the  characteristic  yet  unnecessary  one  :  ' '  Make 
the  most  of  your  time  ;  there  is  no  knowing  how  long  it  will  last." 
The  condition  of  the  Indians  became  most  deplorable,  and 
Isabella,  who  indignantly  asked,  ' '  What  power  has  the  admiral 
to  give  away  my  vassals  ?"  might  now  well  have  asked  her  new 
governor  and  his  minions  to  desist  from  the  cruel  persecution 
and  relentless  destruction  of  her  subjects.  Indian  slavery,  under 
the  official  name  of  repartimientos,  was  permanently  established 
by  Bobadilla,  and  the  poor  natives  were  reduced  to  the  condi 
tion  of  beasts  of  burden  by  their  remorseless  tyrants.  Criminals 
from  Castilian  prisons  now  assumed  the  state  and  retinues  of 
grand  hidalgos,  while  the  enslaved  Indians,  the  real  owners 
of  the  country  and  its  gold,  fell  sinking  to  the  ground  in  their 
service.  Indian  girls,  daughters  or  relatives  of  the  native  chiefs, 
became  at  once  their  domestic  servants  and  concubines,  with 
out  limit  of  number  or  discrimination  of  condition.  When  these 
miscreants  traveled,  they  were  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  the 
Indians.  It  was  a  common  thing  to  see  the  Indians  bleeding 
from  their  backs  and  shoulders  from  carrying  litters  over  the 
country  upon  which  reposed  the  vilest  outcasts  of  European 
prisons  and  dungeons.  These  ruffians  consumed  all  the  fruits  of 
the  hard  toil  of  the  Indians,  until  the  latter  were  starving  in  the 
midst  of  their  own  crushing  labors.  Spanish  pleasures  and 
pastimes  were  acquired  and  enjoyed  by  cruelties,  insults,  and 


458  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

wantonness  to  the  natives.  A  wail  of  distress  went  up  from  the 
island  which  was  not  prevented  from  reaching  the  Spanish  sov 
ereigns  even  by  the  enormous  quantities  of  gold  which  Bobadilla 
poured  at  the  foot  of  the  throne.  The  tender  soul  of  Isabella 
was  melted  by  the  agonies  of  her  new  subjects,  while  the  avari 
cious  heart  of  Ferdinand  was  consoled  by  the  rich  and  golden 
treasures  received  into  the  royal  exchequer. 

Columbus  had  no  choice  but  to  accept  the  exile  of  two  years 
from  his  colony  and  viceroyalty  of  Hispaniola,  under  the  decep 
tive  promise  of  their  restoration  by  the  king  in  that  time.  It  is 
the  opinion  of  historians  that  Columbus  no\v  thoroughly  dis 
trusted  Ferdinand,  but  still  there  was  a  ray  of  hope  in  the  natural 
and  genuine  justice  and  generosity  of  Isabella.  What  could 
he  do  but  wait  ? 

The  distressing  accounts  of  Bobadilla's  misconduct,  received 
by  every  arrival  from  Hispaniola,  hastened  the  departure  of 
Ovando.  This  official  was  a  man  of  good  repute  and  of  honor 
able  lineage,  of  modest  demeanor,  graceful  manners,  imposing 
appearance,  temperate,  even  humble,  and  a  hater  of  avarice,  in 
justice,  and  wrong,  as  his  portrait  has  been  drawn  by  his  con 
temporaries.  Subsequent  experiences  show  him  to  have  been  a 
man  whose  virtues  were  not  unmixed  with  the  gravest  faults, 
for  he  was  astute  and  dissembling,  fond  of  command,  and  un 
sparing  to  the  helpless  Indians,  which  last  was  evidence  of  a 
nature  remorselessly  cruel  ;  while  toward  Columbus  he  was 
ungenerous  and  even  unjust,  cavilling,  mean,  and  unmanly,  yet 
punctilious  and  ceremonious. 

The  fleet  that  carried  Ovando  to  his  new  trust  was  the  most 
magnificent  that  had  ever  crossed  the  Atlantic.  It  consisted  of 
thirty  ships,  five  of  ninety  to  a  hundred  tons  burden,  twenty- 
four  of  thirty  to  ninety  tons,  and  one  of  twenty-five  tons. 
Twenty-five  hundred  persons  embarked  in  the  squadron,  and 
they  consisted  of  soldiers,  officials,  artisans,  mechanics,  a  physi 
cian,  a  surgeon,  an  apothecary,  seventy-three  married  men  of 
good  character  and  their  families  ;  and  with  the  fleet  sailed  Don 
Alonzo  Maldonado,  who  was  appointed  to  supersede  Roldan  as 
chief  justice.  Besides  the  men  on  board  there  were  also  liberal 
supplies  of  every  kind,  including  live  stock,  artillery,  arms, 
ammunition,  and  implements.  Sailing  from  Spain  on  February 
I3th,  1502,  the  fleet  reached  San  Domingo  on  April  I5th,  but 


ON  COLUMBUS.  459 

only  after  encountering  a  terrific  storm,  in  which  one  of  the  ships 
perished,  while,  in  order  to  save  the  other  vessels  and  their 
crews  and  passengers,  much  of  the  valuable  cargoes  were  thrown 
overboard.  As  the  jetson  from  the  storm-beaten  fleet  was  cast 
up  in  quantities  on  the  coast  of  Spain,  a  rumor  spread  over  the 
kingdom  that  the  fleet  was  wrecked  ;  and  so  deeply  were  the 
sovereigns  affected  by  the  report  and  by  the  floating  equipment 
cast  upon  the  shore,  that  they  shut  themselves  up  for  eight  days 
m  their  apartments,  and  during  that  time  they  refused  to  see  any 
one. 

Columbus  saw  with  sadness  the  departure  of  this  noble  fleet 
commanded  by  another.  He  keenly  felt  the  wrong  thus  done  to 
himself.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  he  was  entitled  to  its  com 
mand.  It  is  probable  that  his  superior  seamanship  might  have 
carried  the  ships  through  the  storm  with  safety  and  without  loss 
of  ship  or  cargoes.  It  is  fair  to  judge  that  his  administration  as 
viceroy,  under  such  favorable  circumstances  as  surrounded 
Ovando,  and  with  his  vast  and  intelligent  experience,  would 
have  proved  successful  and  brilliant.  His  manly  heart,  with  all 
his  wrongs,  rejoiced  not  at  the  misfortunes  of  others,  but  he 
grieved  over  the  disaster  to  the  fleet  announced  by  the  arrival 
of  the  abandoned  cargoes  on  the  shores  of  Spain. 

Ovando  was  instructed  to  assume  immediate  command  on  his 
arrival  at  Hispaniola,  to  send  Bobadilla  back  to  Spain,  to  inquire 
into  the  disorders  of  the  island,  punish  the  guilty,  and  to  expel 
all  who  were  unworthy  to  remain  ;  to  revoke  the  licenses  given 
for  collecting  gold,  of  which  he  was  to  exact  one  third  of  all  that 
was  already  collected  and  one  half  of  all  future  authorized  col 
lections  ;  to  build  and  charter  cities,  to  exact  military  obedience 
and  discipline.  All  commerce  with  the  colonies  was  restricted 
to  the  mother  country,  and  all  mines,  precious  stones,  dye- 
woods,  and  other  articles  of  peculiar  value  were  reserved  to  the 
crown.  Foreigners,  especially  Jews  and  Moors,  were  prohibited 
from  settling  in  Hispaniola  or  making  voyages  to  the  Indies.  The 
Indians  and  their  caciques  were  taken  under  the  protection  of 
the  sovereigns.  Though  the  Indians  were  only  to  pay  tribute 
as  other  Spanish  subjects,  and  to  be  treated  with  all  possible 
gentleness,  it  was  most  unfortunately  provided  that  they  were 
compellable  to  labor  on  the  public  works  and  in  the  mines,  a 
provision  which  was  evidently  liable  to  abuse,  and  which,  as 


460  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

might  have  been  obviously  anticipated,  resulted  in  annulling  all 
provisions  in  their  favor,  and  in  their  ultimate  and  cruel  exter 
mination.  In  vain  was  it  added  that  especial  care  should  be  taken 
to  convert  them  to  Christianity,  and  that  a  body  of  pious  Fran 
ciscans,  the  first  formal  introduction  of  that  order  into  the  new 
world,  under  the  direction  of  the  devout  and  venerable  Antonio 
de  Espinal,  was  sent  out  for  that  purpose  ;  for  the  unwary  pro 
vision  subjecting  them  to  be  impressed  for  labor  rendered  these 
well-intended  instructions  nothing  better  practically  than  the 
most  cruel  edict  for  their  enslavement  and  extermination.  But 
there  was  another  provision  in  these  royal  ordinances  which 
makes  humanity  blush  for  the  highest  motives  and  purest  con 
duct  of  the  best  and  noblest  of  our  race.  While  the  Indians  were 
to  be  protected  by  delusive  injunctions  for  their  conversion  and 
civilization,  their  exemption  from  slavery  was  to  be  secured  by 
the  importation  of  slaves  of  another  race  in  their  stead.  It  is 
to  be  regretted  that  the  Spanish  sovereigns  placed  their  names 
to  a  decree  which  recognized  the  reduction  to  slavery  of  the 
negroes  brought  from  the  coasts  of  Africa  into  Spain,  and  author 
ized  the  importation  of  their  descendants,  born  in  Spain  of  Chris 
tian  parents,  into  Hispaniola,  and  their  enslavement  there  con 
tinued.  Such,  alas  !  was  the  first  introduction  of  African  slavery 
into  America  !  But  even  this  inconsistent  but  well-intended 
measure  did  not  save  the  Indians,  while  it  enslaved  the  Afri 
cans  ! 

The  interests  of  Columbus  were  not  overlooked,  but  Ovando 
was  instructed  to  ascertain  the  damages  he  had  sustained  by  his 
unjust  imprisonment,  the  suspension  of  his  rights,  and  the  seizure 
of  his  property.  The  crown  and  Bobadilla  were  to  make  resti 
tution  of  all  his  property  taken  by  or  for  them,  and  his  brothers 
were  to  be  indemnified  for  all  their  losses.  Alonzo  Sanchez  de 
Carvajal  was  appointed  by  the  admiral,  with  the  royal  consent, 
his  factor,  to  receive  and  collect  his  share  of  the  receipts  from 
Hispaniola,  and  to  secure  for  him  all  his  properties  and  revenues. 
In  future  the  admiral  was  to  receive  his  revenues,  and  all  arrears 
were  ordered  now  to  be  paid.  Ovando  was  surrounded  with  all 
the  dignities  and  retinues  appropriate  to  his  high  office,  and  he 
was  exempted  from  the  prohibition  against  wearing  silks,  bro 
cades,  precious  stones,  and  other  sumptuous  attire,  which  the 
ostentatious  extravagance  of  the  Spanish  nobility  had  caused  to 


ON   COLUMBUS.  461 

be  enacted.  He  was  allowed  a  retinue  of  seventy  esquires,  of 
whom  ten  were  horsemen. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  imagine  a  position  more  humiliating, 
more  unjust,  or  more  oppressive  to  a  high-minded  man,  or  more 
unworthy  of  great  and  powerful  sovereigns,  than  that  in  which 
Columbus  was  now  placed — that  a  stranger,  who  had  never 
contributed  a  thought  or  an  act  to  the  discovery  of  the  new 
world,  should  be  heralded  as  the  governor  of  the  new  countries, 
should  be  sent  out  at  the  head  of  so  splendid  a  fleet,  should  be 
loaded  with  honors,  dignities,  and  privileges,  and  should  be 
backed  by  the  power  and  prestige  of  the  Spanish  crown,  while 
the  discoverer  of  the  western  world  and  its  legitimate  ruler, 
viceroy,  and  admiral  should  be  detained  at  home,  silenced, 
neglected,  and  impoverished.  Had  half  so  much  been  done  for 
him  as  was  now  done  for  Ovando,  at  the  time  when  his  own  forces 
were  in  rebellion  against  him  and  he  was  reduced  to  the  point  of 
despair,  he  could  have  brought  his  administration  to  a  successful 
result,  and  could  have  prosecuted  his  discoveries  to  the  conquest 
of  two  continents  and  to  the  dominion  of  both  oceans.  He  had 
instead  been  left  a  prey  to  the  crimes  of  others  ;  he  had  been 
brought  back  in  chains  from  the  scenes  of  his  greatest  services, 
and  now  he  was  left  in  disgrace  and  inactivity.  Nine  months 
were  thus  spent  by  Columbus  in  the  thankless  task  of  vindicating 
his  honor,  of  restoring  his  fortunes,  in  making  his  appeal  to 
Spain  and  to  posterity.  It  was  posterity  alone  that  has  heard 
his  appeal. 

In  the  fervent  mind  of  Columbus  there  was  an  indissoluble  link 
between  the  discovery  of  the  new  world  and  the  rescue  and  de 
livery  of  the  Holy  Land  to  Christendom.  The  former  was  to 
provide  the  means  of  achieving  the  latter.  His  thoughts  now 
reverted  to  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  since  he  was  now  so  unjustly 
debarred  from  continuing  the  discovery  of  the  new  world.  The 
histories  of  the  crusades  to  wrest  Jerusalem  and  the  Holy  Land 
from  the  grasp  of  the  Mohammedans  do  not  exhibit  to  our  view 
the  length  and  depth,  the  elevation  and  breadth  of  the  Christian 
idea  which  then  lay  at  the  foundation  of  this  wonderful  move 
ment.  The  real  contest  was  between  all  Christendom  and  all  the 
powers  of  Mohammedanism.  With  Christendom  it  was  more 
defensive  than  aggressive.  Mohammedanism  represented  aggres 
sion.  It  was  in  this  sense  and  with  this  motive  that  the  Sover- 


462  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

eign  Pontiffs  and  Peter  the  Hermit  preached  the  crusade.  It 
was  in  a  grand  inspiration  that  the  devout  soul  of  Columbus 
made  him  the  crusader-champion  of  Christendom.  The  idea 
born  of  the  chivalrous  ages  survived  those  ages  with  Columbus, 
who  was  a  historic  figure  standing  between  the  Middle  Ages 
and  modern  times,  and  possessing  the  faith  of  the  one  united 
with  the  enterprise  of  the  other.  Columbus  assumed  the  aggres 
sive  ;  the  Hoi}7  Sepulchre  was  to  be  redeemed,  and  the  Eastern 
world  of  Asia  converted  to  the  faith.  The  character  of  Colum 
bus,  with  its  varied  virtues  and  conceptions,  in  fact,  belongs  to 
all  times  and  epochs,  to  all  nations  and  continents.  His  mind 
would  have  grasped  with  equal  intelligence  the  principles  in 
volved  in  the  mediaeval  struggle  between  Christendom  and 
Mohammedanism.  His  sword  would  have  been  wielded  with 
equal  vigor  whether  under  the  Lion-hearted  Richard  in  the 
Crusades,  or  under  George  Washington  in  our  own  War  of 
Independence. 

The  mind  of  Columbus  was  imbued  with  the  faith  and  senti 
ments  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  no  religious  question  of  past  or 
present  interest  ceased  to  arouse  his  deep  Christian  sentiments. 
As  the  learned  Tarducci  has  justly  remarked,  it  is  necessary  to 
divest  our  minds  of  the  utilitarian  education  of  our  age,  and 
identify  ourselves  with  the  sentiments  of  past  ages,  in  order  to 
do  justice  to  the  life  and  character  of  Columbus.  It  is  singular 
and  interesting  to  recall  the  connection  in  the  minds  of  Christian 
doctors  and  scholars  of  the  past  between  the  expected  time  of 
the  end  of  the  world  and  the  crusades  and  all  other  grand  and  uni 
versal  movements  and  enterprises.  Notwithstanding  the  words 
of  Christ,  "  It  is  not  for  you  to  know  the  times  or  the  moments 
which  the  Father  hath  put  in  His  own  power,"  it  was  a  subject 
that  stirred  Christendom — that  of  finding  out  the  time  of  the 
destruction  of  the  world.  While  Christendom  awaited  the 
end  of  the  world  on  the  approach  of  the  year  1000,  St.  Augus 
tine  and  Cardinal  d'Ailly  concurred  in  the  opinion  that  the  por 
tents  mentioned  in  Scripture  as  signs  of  the  great  last  end 
would  occur  seven  thousand  years  from  the  creation  of  the 
world.  Columbus  studied  these  and  many  other  sacred  writings 
on  this  subject,  and  advancing  beyond  the  points  reached  by 
doctors  and  theologians,  he  boldly  advanced  the  opinion,  or 
rather  the  positive  announcement,  which  he  based  upon  the  ap- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  463 

plication  of  the  Alphonsine  tables  to  the  theories  of  St.  Augus 
tine,  that  the  world  would  come  to  an  end  in  one  hundred  and 
fifty-five  years.  The  words  of  Columbus  were  as  follows  :  "  St. 
Augustine  teaches  that  the  end  of  the  world  will  be  7000  years 
from  its  creation.  This  is  likewise  the  opinion  of  the  holy  theo 
logians  and  of  Cardinal  Pierre  d'Ailly.  Your  Highness  is  aware 
that  from  Adam  to  the  birth  of  Christ  was  5343  years  and  318 
days,  according  to  the  exact  calculation  of  King  Alfonso.  We 
are  now  in  the  fifteen  hundred  and  first  year  since  the  birth  of 
our  Lord,  and  consequently  the  world  has  lasted  already  6845 
years.  It  will,  therefore,  be  only  155  years  before  the  world  is 
destroyed."  * 

Now  the  connection  between  the  end  of  the  world  and  the 
crusades,  or  the  recovery  of  the  Holy  Land  from  the  Moham 
medans,  is  obvious  ;  for  before  the  end  of  the  world  all  nations 
should  be  converted  to  Christianity,  and  become  united  under 
one  shepherd  in  one  fold.  It  was  time,  therefore,  in  the  devout 
mind  of  Columbus,  to  prepare  for  these  portentous  events,  and 
he  believed  himself  to  be  the  providential  man  that  was  sent  to 
reveal  the  world  to  mankind  and  all  its  unknown  nations,  tribes, 
and  peoples.  The  great  monster  of  Mohammedanism  was  to  be 
destroyed,  the  East  and  the  West  were  to  be  brought  together, 
and  the  recovery  of  Jerusalem  and  the  Holy  Land  was  the  door 
which  would  open  the  way  to  the  reunion  of  all  the  world  in  the 
one  fold  of  Christ.  '  The  wealth  of  the  Indies,"  writes  Father 
Knight,  "to  follow  his  train  of  thought,  would  ensure  the  re 
covery  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  ;  the  recovery  of  the  Holy  Sepul 
chre  would  increase  charity  and  send  evangelists  to  the  Indies. 
Distant  nations  must  be  added  to  the  fold,  and  Christians  must 
be  free  once  more  to  worship  Christ  at  Bethlehem  and  Calvary. 
The  idea  which  filled  the  mind  and  soul  of  Columbus  was  to 
make  a  highway  round  the  earth,  and  bring  the  nations  in  willing 
homage  to  the  feet  of  Jesus  Christ,  reigning  once  more  in  Jeru 
salem  of  the  Christians."  f  '  In  this  time  of  evil,  his  vow  to  fur 
nish  within  seven  years  from  the  time  of  his  discovery,"  writes 
Mr.  Irving,  "  fifty  thousand  foot  soldiers  and  five  thousand  horse, 
for  the  recovery  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  recurred  to  his  memory 


*  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  212. 
(•  "  Life  of  Christopher  Columbus,"  by  Rev.  A.  G.  Knight,  S.  J.,  p.  190. 


464  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

with  peculiar  force.  The  time  had  elapsed,  but  the  vow  re 
mained  unfulfilled,  and  the  means  to  perform  it  had  failed  him." 

These  ideas,  so  repeatedly  and  solemnly  and  artlessly  ex 
pressed  by  a  man  of  the  fervent  piety  of  Columbus,  show  how 
truly  his  discovery  arose  from  the  working  of  his  own  mind,  and 
not  from  information  furnished  by  others.  He  considered  it  a 
divine  intimation,  a  light  from  Heaven,  and  a  fulfilment  of  what 
had  been  foretold  by  our  Saviour  and  the  prophets.  Still  he  re 
garded  it  but  as  a  minor  event,  preparatory  to  the  great  enter 
prise,  the  recovery  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  He  pronounced  it  a 
miracle  effected  by  Heaven  to  animate  himself  and  others  to 
that  holy  undertaking  ;  and  he  assured  the  sovereigns  that  if 
they  had  faith  in  his  present  as  in  his  former  proposition,  they 
would  assuredly  be  rewarded  with  equally  triumphant  suc 
cess."  *  The  Count  de  Lorgues,  on  the  same  subject,  in  his 
usual  extravagant  strain  writes  :  "  Human  glory  was  incapable 
of  remunerating  him.  It  was  from  the  Most  High  that  he  ex 
pected  a  recompense.  Columbus  hoped  that,  as  a  crowning  of 
his  favors,  the  Divine  Majesty  designed  to  reserve  for  him  the 
deliverance  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  hitherto  refused  to  the  efforts 
of  the  Crusaders. "  f  And  again  the  same  enthusiastic  author  : 
"  Sometimes  in  the  intervals  of  his  researches,  the  contemplator 
of  the  world,  electrified  with  the  poetry  of  Israel  and  with  the 
sublime  hymns  of  the  Church,  tried  also  to  render  into  verse  the 
emotions  prompted  by  his  piety.  A  poet  in  sentiment,  he  was 
still  more  so  in  expression,  even  in  the  language  of  his  adopted 
country.  .  .  .  The  religious  stanzas  of  Columbus  unhappily 
are  lost."  \ 

Columbus  was  not  alone  in  his  conviction  that  he  was  the 
chosen  one  of  Heaven  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel,  in  which 
great  mission  the  recovery  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  and  the  Holy 
Land  was  an  early  step.  The  learned  and  gifted  Jayme  Ferrer, 
a  famous  scientist  of  that  day,  expressed  the  sentiments  of  many 
learned  and  pious  people  when  he  thus  addressed  Isabella  con 
cerning  Columbus  in  1495  :  "  I  believe  that  in  its  deep,  mysteri 
ous  designs  divine  Providence  selected  him  as  its  agent  in  this 


*  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  295. 

f  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  De  Lorgues'  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  p.  425. 

\  Id.,  p.  426. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  465 

work,  which  I  look  upon  as  the  introduction  and  preparation  for 
things  which  the  same  divine  Providence  has  determined  to  make 
known  for  its  own  glory  and  the  salvation  and  happiness  of  the 
world."  And  afterward,  writing  to  the  admiral,  he  says:  "I 
behold  in  this  a  great  mystery  ;  the  divine  and  infallible  Provi 
dence  sent  the  great  Thomas  from  the  West  to  the  East  to  preach 
our  holy  Catholic  faith  in  the  Indies,  and  has  sent  you,  sefior,  by 
the  opposite  way,  from  the  East  to  the  West,  till,  by  God's  will, 
you  reached  the  utmost  limits  of  Upper  India,  in  order  that  the 
inhabitants  might  learn  those  truths  which  their  progenitors 
cared  not  to  receive  from  the  preaching  of  St.  Thomas. 
In  your  mission,  sefior,  you  seem  an  apostle,  a  messenger  of 
God,  to  spread  His  name  in  unknown  lands."  *  Such  were  the 
views  of  learned  and  good  men  in  a  less  sceptical  age  than  ours. 
Devoting  himself  to  this  great  purpose,  Columbus  employed 
all  his  leisure  moments  in  preparing  arguments  and  proofs  to 
sustain  his  proposals  to  the  sovereigns  to  undertake  the  rescue 
of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  Although  he  had  prepared  calculations 
for  furnishing  an  army  of  one  hundred  thousand  men  for  this 
crusade,  at  a  time  when  he  scarcely  possessed  the  means  of  pur 
chasing  for  himself  a  coat,  he  now  realized  his  present  poverty, 
and  appealed  to  the  sovereigns  to  undertake  the  work.  His 
studious  labors  were  collected  in  a  splendid  manuscript  work, 
which  he  entitled  "  A  Collection  of  Prophecies  on  the  Recovery  of 
Jerusalem  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Indies,"  which  he  addressed  to 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella.  When  submitted  by  him,  before  presen 
tation  to  the  sovereigns,  to  Father  Gaspard  Gorricio,  a  learned 
Carthusian  monk,  for  his  amendment  and  addition,  the  father  could 
find  little  to  add,  expressing  at  the  same  time  his  wonder  and  ad 
miration  at  its  extraordinary  learning,  research,  and  cogent  reason 
ing.  This  remarkable  work,  composed  of  collections  and  extracts 
from  the  prophecies  relating  to  his  subject,  poetical  stanzas  by 
the  author,  quotations  and  references  from  the  works  of  St. 
Augustine,  St.  Thomas,  St.  Isidore,  and  Gerson,  has,  with  the 
exception  of  some  fragments  and  allusions  to  it  in  the  admiral's 
other  writings,  wholly  perished.  It  was  presented  to  the  Span 
ish  sovereigns  accompanied  by  a  no  less  interesting  and  remark- 


*  "  Col.  Diplo.  Doc.,"  Ixviii.  ;  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life  of 
Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  217. 


466  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

able  letter  addressed  by  the  admiral  to  them,  in  which  he  ear 
nestly  and  enthusiastically  appealed  to  them  not  to  reject  his 
proposals,  and  assuring  them  of  the  same  ultimate  success  that 
had  attested  the  truth  and  practicability  of  his  proposals  for  the 
discovery  of  the  new  world. 

While  preparing  this  unique  and  characteristic  volume,  Colum 
bus  was  living  in  retirement  and  poverty,  unable  to  appear  in 
public  for  want  of  means  to  sustain  his  rank,  scarcely  able  to 
provide  a  scanty  livelihood  or  clothing,  and,  to  his  own  sincere 
regret  and  mortification,  unable  to  contribute  to  the  Church  and 
to  the  expenses  of  divine  worship  a  blanca,  smallest  of  Span 
ish  coins.  Not  having  received  his  just  remittances  from  His- 
paniola,  he  was  without  money  or  credit.  It  is  well  known  that 
in  his  days  of  prosperity  his  charities  had  been  unbounded.  Not 
only  had  he  cared  for  his  aged  and  impoverished  father  at  Genoa, 
but  he  cared  for  the  household  of  Donna  Beatrix  Enriquez  at 
Cordova,  had  assisted  his  brothers,  and,  as  the  Count  de  Lorgues 
suggests,  not  from  historical  data,  but  from  the  abundance  of  his 
admiration,  he  must  have  given  generously  to  hospitals  and 
other  charities,  and  discharged  in  the  most  substantial  manner 
the  debt  of  gratitude  he  always  entertained  toward  the  Francis 
can  convent  of  La  Rabida.  Reduced  to  the  necessity  of  living 
in  an  inn,  even  there  he  was  frequently  without  the  means  of 
paying  his  board.  Neglected  by  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  when 
he  "  had  given  to  Castile  lands  a  hundred  times  larger  than  her 
self,"  he,  at  this  sublime  period  of  his  life,  "  was  without  a  foot 
of  earth,  a  garden  to  walk  in,  or  a  roof  to  shelter  his  head." 
In  the  midst  of  such  humiliations  and  sufferings  the  enthusiastic 
and  mediaeval  mind  of  Columbus  soared  in  solemn  thought  toward 
Heaven.  The  preparation  of  this  earth  for  the  coming  of  the 
Saviour  to  judge  mankind  by  opening  the  way  to  the  conversion 
of  all  nations  to  the  faith,  the  ardent  appeal  to  the  most  devout 
sentiments  of  the  sovereigns  and  peoples  of  his  age,  the  sacred 
yet  almost  mystic  learning  with  which  he  enforced  his  arguments 
and  conclusions,  the  elevation  of  mind  with  which  he  sought  the 
sublime  aims  within  the  grasp  of  man,  and  the  perfect  earnest 
ness  and  simple  good  faith  in  which  he  presented  the  predestined 
and  glorious  mission  which  he  felt  to  be  his  office  divinely  in- 


*  Dr.  Barry '3  translation  of  Count  de  Lorgues'  "Life  of  Columbus,"  p.  432. 


OX   COLUMBUS.  467 

spired  and  ordained  of  Heaven,  throw  light  upon  the  character 
and  life  of  the  man.  The  spirit  of  the  crusades  had  not  expired 
on  earth  ;  in  fact,  Columbus  himself  had  been  a  soldier  fighting 
in  the  recent  successful  crusade  of  Christianity  against  Moham 
medanism  in  Spain.  A  Spanish  duke  had  but  lately  accomplished 
an  expedition  into  Barbary  against  the  infidels  ;  Spanish  con 
quests  were  looking  eastwardly,  and  the  proposals  of  Columbus 
were  not  out  of  unison  with  the  religious  and  military  spirit  of 
the  times,  nor  of  the  court  to  which  they  were  addressed.  Even 
now  the  souls  of  Christians  turn  ardently  toward  the  holy  city 
of  Jerusalem  ;  pilgrimages  to  the  Holy  Land  are  still  the  signifi 
cant  expressions  of  Christian  piety  ;  while  at  the  approaching 
quadro-centennial  celebration  of  the  great  Columbian  discovery 
there  will  be  present  American  Christians  who  have  visited  Jeru 
salem  as  pilgrims  in  the  same  religious  sentiments  which  affected 
the  soul  of  Columbus.  In  February  the  admiral  addressed  a 
strong  letter  to  Pope  Alexander  VI.,  presenting  his  plans  for  the 
recovery  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  and  for  spreading  the  gospel 
among  all  the  heathen  nations  of  the  earth.  He  renewed  his 
promise  of  visiting  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  in  person. 

But  the  currents  of  more  modern  thought  and  enterprise  had 
set  in  ;  a  new  world  had  been  discovered  but  only  partially  re 
vealed.  Was  it  Asia,  or  a  new  hemisphere,  with  its  continents  ? 
Portugal  had  reached  Asia  by  the  South  African  route,  and  had 
discovered  Brazil.  Spain  and  Portugal  were  looking  with  mun 
dane  ambition  to  the  new  world  rather  than  with  religious  zeal 
to  the  Orient.  Columbus,  more  than  any  other  person,  knew 
the  importance  and  grandeur  of  his  achievement.  Having  ob 
served  the  directions  of  the  coasts  of  Paria  and  Cuba,  tending 
toward  a  central  region,  he  believed  that  the  currents  of  the 
Caribbean  Sea  could  have  no  other  outlet  than  between  the  main 
lands  of  Paria  and  Cuba  at  the  point  of  their  nearest  approach, 
and  he  located  the  conjectured  strait  near  what  we  now  know 
as  the  Isthmus  of  Darien.  He  proposed  now,  with  an  enthusiasm 
equal  to  that  which  inspired  him  before  the  Council  of  Salamanca, 
to  the  sovereigns  to  make  another  and  fourth  voyage  for  the  dis 
covery  of  this  great  passage,  by  which  he  would  unite  the  new 
world  and  the  old  by  a  navigable  strait,  and  bring  the  riches  of 
both  within  reach  of  Europe.  Success  would  crown  his  career 
as  discoverer  and  add  further  splendor  to  his  last  days. 


468  OLD   AND    NEW   LIGHTS 

i 

Ferdinand  and  Isabella  overcame  all  the  objections  raised 
against  this  proposal  of  the  admiral.  Why  should  they  wait  for 
a  report  from  Hispaniola  as  to  his  administration  there,  when  he 
had  already  discovered  a  new  world,  and  proposed  to  discover 
what  might  prove  to  be  another,  perhaps  of  greater  vastness, 
wealth,  and  grandeur  ?  While  the  admiral's  plans  for  the  crusade 
to  the  Holy  Land  produced  the  partial  result  of  leading  Ferdi 
nand  to  gain,  by  negotiation  with  the  Grand  Soldan  of  Egypt, 
the  preservation  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  and  the  protection  of 
Christian  pilgrimages,  the  admiral  was  invited  to  Seville  in  the 
fall  of  1501  to  arrange  with  the  sovereigns  the  details  of  his 
fourth  voyage  of  discovery. 

Columbus,  in  the  preparations  for  his  fourth  and  last  voyage 
to  the  Indies,  encountered  from  Fonseca  delays  and  provocations 
similar  to  those  he  had  already  suffered  ;  yet  it  is  stated  that 
when  it  became  known  at  Seville  that  the  sovereigns  were  anx 
ious  to  get  rid  of  him,  by  engaging  his  thoughts  in  a  new  ex 
pedition,  the  preparations  were  hastened  by  Fonseca  and  his 
associates.  His  request  for  permission  to  land  at  Hispaniola  was 
declined  on  the  outward  voyage,  on  account  of  the  still  unsettled 
condition  of  affairs,  and  chiefly  as  Ovando  had  then  just  arrived 
and  Bobadilla  was  about  to  return  home  ;  but  permission  was 
given  for  his  touching  at  San  Domingo  on  his  return.  Permis 
sion  was  given  for  his  taking  with  him  his  brother,  the  Adelan- 
tado,  and  his  son  Fernando,  then  a  lad  of  fourteen  years,  while 
his  son  Diego  was  to  remain  in  Spain  to  attend  to  his  business 
interests.  Two  or  three  persons  conversant  with  Arabic  were 
selected  to  go  on  this  expedition,  in  the  expectation  that  now  at 
least  the  realms  of  the  Grand  Khan  would  be  reached.  A  letter 
was  addressed  to  Columbus  by  the  sovereigns,  assuring  him 
most  solemnly  that  their  treaties  with  him  would  be  faithfully 
fulfilled  by  them  and  their  successors,  not  only  to  him,  but  also 
to  his  sons,  and  expressing  a  disposition  to  bestow  still  further 
honors  and  rewards  upon  him,  his  brothers,  and  his  children, 
and  also  expressing  the  hope  that  his  mind  would  be  at  peace 
for  the  prosecution  of  his  grand  enterprise,  as  well  as  in  relation 
to  his  rights  and  interests  at  home. 

While  the  mind  of  Columbus  was  greatly  relieved  by  this  as 
surance,  the  last  letter  he  received  from  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 
which  in  its  terms  seemed  both  ample  and  generous,  his  sad  ex- 


ON  COLUMBUS.  469 

periences  with  princes  led  his  practical  and  sagacious  mind  to 
take  measures  for  preserving  his  fame,  securing  his  rights,  and 
perpetuating  his  titles,  offices,  and  jurisdictions  to  his  sons  and 
descendants.  He  accordingly  caused  copies  of  all  the  royal 
letters,  grants,  and  capitulations  issued  to  him  as  admiral,  vice 
roy,  and  governor  to  be  prepared  and  certified  by  the  alcaldes 
of  Seville,  and  also  letters  of  his  own  containing  vindications  of 
his  administration  in  Hispaniola,  and  these  documents  in  dupli 
cates  were  sent  by  different  messengers  to  his  friend,  Dr.  Nicolo 
Oderigo,  formerly  ambassador  from  Genoa  to  the  Spanish  court, 
with  the  request  to  preserve  them  and  to  acquaint  his  son  Diego 
of  their  existence  and  deposit.  Another  copy  he  left  with  his 
friends,  the  Franciscans  in  Spain,  and  another  with  the  monks 
of  St.  Jerome.  It  was  thus  with  a  prophetic  forethought  he 
made  his  appeal-  to  the  world  and  to  posterity  for  that  justice 
which  was  then  denied  him  by  the  king  and  nation  that  had 
reaped  the  whole  honor  and  glory  of  his  achievements.  It  was 
an  appeal  from  King  Ferdinand's  subsequent,  but  then  appre 
hended  injustice,  to  the  public  opinion  of  the  world.  Four  cen 
turies  have  recorded  their  verdict  in  favor  of  Columbus. 

The  fleet  destined  for  such  services  contrasted  strangely  with 
that  which  had  just  carried  out  a  mere  official,  whose  chief  office 
was  to  supersede  another  similar  official,  who,  like  himself,  had 
been  clothed  with  authority.  It  consisted  of  four  caravels, 
one  of  fifty  tons,  the  largest  of  seventy  tons,  and  the  personnel 
consisted  of  only  one  hundred  and  fifty  men.  It  was  destined  to 
solve  the  problem  of  a  northwest  passage  to  Asia,  now  conjec 
tured  and  believed  to  be  a  central  passage,  to  elucidate  the  prob 
lem  of  the  circumnavigation  of  the  earth,  and  to  unfold  to  men 
the  geography  of  the  planet.  Much  of  this  programme  was 
actually  accomplished  ;  under  more  favorable  support  the  prob 
lems  of  geography  would  have  been  solved.  The  admiral  was 
accompanied  by  his  ever-faithful  brother,  Don  Bartholomew, 
and  by  his  younger  son,  Don  Fernando,  whose  society  greatly 
consoled  the  venerable  discoverer  in  his  sorrows  and  adversities. 
The  fleet  sailed  from  the  port  of  Cadiz  on  May  Qth,  1502. 

"  What  can  we  not  endure, 
When  pains  are  lessen'd  by  the  hope  of  cure  ?" 

— NABB'S  "  MICROCOSMUS." 

Don    Bartholomew    Columbus   had   seen  so   much   treachery 


470  OLD  AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

on  the  part  of  Spaniards,  and  so  much  selfish  ingratitude 
on  the  part  of  the  king,  such  lack  of  support  from  the 
mother  country  to  her  champions  and  heralds  in  the  new  world, 
that  he  desired  to  abandon  all  further  participation  in  the  prose 
cution  of  western  discoveries  and  explorations  ;  but  at  the  re 
quest  of  his  brother  he  nobly  sacrificed  every  plan  and  wish  of 
his  own,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  new  enterprise.  The  ad 
miral's  younger  brother,  always  so  gentle  and  so  pious,  now 
abandoned  the  world,  and  sought  retirement  and  meditation  in 
the  sacred  ministry.  To  young  Fernando  Columbus  the  queen 
gave  a  commission  in  the  Spanish  navy. 

Columbus,  now  advanced  in  years,  and  weakened  by  severe 
mental  and  physical  strain  and  by  his  increasing  infirmities, 
seemed  to  contemplate  constantly  eternity,  while  yet  making  a 
last  struggle  to  reveal  the  geography  of  the  globe.  The  ingrati 
tude  he  had  experienced  in  Spain,  his  adopted  country,  had  now 
an  interesting  effect  in  reviving  and  renewing  the  love  of  his 
native  country,  the  home  of  his  father  and  of  his  ancestors.  His 
characteristic  generosity  was  now  again  conspicuous  in  this  criti 
cal  epoch  in  his  life.  With  patriotic  love  for  his  native  country, 
he  made  a  munificent  donation  to  the  Bank  of  St.  George,  at 
Genoa,  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  of  his  native  city.  The  letter 
announcing  this  gift,  which  now  the  revival  of  his  hopes  for  the 
restoration  of  his  rights  and  revenues  and  their  transmission  to 
his  family  gave  him  every  prospect  of  making  good,  is  so  exact 
a  mirror  of  his  noble  and  generous  soul,  that  I  will  give  it  to  the 
reader. 

'  To  the  Most  Noble  Lords  of  the  Most  Magnificent  Office  of  St. 
George  : 

"  MOST  NOBLE  LORDS  :  Although  in  body  far  distant,  in  heart 
I  am  always  near  you.  God  our  Lord  has  done  me  the  greatest 
favor  of  any  man  since  David. 

'  The  facts  of  my  enterprise,  already  widely  published,  would 
astonish  you  much  more  if  you  knew  them  all,  and  the  govern 
ment  had  not  cautiously  concealed  them.  I  return  again  to  the 
Indies,  in  the  name  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity  ;  but  as  I  am 
mortal,  and  may  leave  this  world  on  the  way,  I  have  disposed  by 
will  that  my  son,  Don  Diego,  shall  remit  to  you  every  year,  in 
perpetuity,  the  tenth  part  of  my  revenues,  to  be  used  in  reduc- 


ON  COLUMBUS.  4/1 

ing  the  duties  on  corn,  wine,  and  other  victuals  consumed  in 
your  city-  If  this  tenth  will  accomplish  something,  accept  it ; 
if  not,  accept  my  good  will. 

"  I  recommend  my  son  to  your  favor.  Messer  Nicolo  Oderigo 
knows  much  about  me  ;  he  is  the  bearer  also  of  a  faithful  copy 
of  my  privileges  and  rights,  to  be  deposited  in  some  safe  place, 
after  showing  it  to  your  lordships  at  your  convenience. 

"  The  king  and  queen,  my  sovereigns,  love  and  honor  me 
more  than  ever. 

"  May  the  Holy  Triad  preserve  your  noble  persons,  and 
bestow  ever  greater  prosperity  on  the  most  magnificent  Office 
of  St.  George. 

"  Done  at  Seville,  on  the  2nd  of  April,  1502. 
'  The  Admiral-Major  of   the    Ocean    Sea,   and   Viceroy  and 
Governor-General  of  the  Islands  and  Mainland  of  Asia  and  India, 
for  the  King  and  Queen,  my  sovereigns,  and  their  Captain-Gen 
eral  of  the  Sea,  and  their  Councillor. 

•  S  • 

•  S  -  A  .  S  • 
X.  M.    Y. 
.Xpo    KERENS. 

As  all  biographers  of  Columbus  have  given  an  explanation  of 
this  unique  and  interesting  signature,  so  characteristic  of  the 
age  to  which  he  belonged  and  of  the  religion  which  inspired 
him  with  so  many  high  thoughts  and  aspirations,  my  readers 
will  find  the  explanation  attractive  and  entertaining. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  the  name  of  Christopher, 
which  is  composed  of  two  Latin  words,  Christus  and  Ferens,  sig 
nifies  the  Christ-bearer,  and  was  devoutly  interpreted  by  the 
admiral  himself  as  prophetic  of  his  mission  in  carrying  the  re 
ligion  of  Christ  to  unknown  lands  and  nations.  Among  the  an 
cient  traditions  of  the  Church  is  the  legend  of  St.  Christopher. 
The  name  Christopher  seems  to  have  been  an  emblematic  name 
given  to  St.  Jerom,  who  was  martyred  under  the  Emperor 
Decius,  in  Lycia ;  and  while  his  festival  was  observed  in  the 
Western  calendars  on  July  25th,  it  was  kept  by  the  Greek  Chris 
tians  and  other  Orientals  on  May  Qth.  It  is  stated  by  the  learned 
Alban  Butler  that,  according  to  the  Mosarabic  Breviary  attributed 
to  St.  Isidore,  the  martyr's  relics  were  translated  to  Toledo,  thence 


4/2  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

into  France,  and  are  now  enshrined  at  St.  Denys,  near  Paris. 
Father  Knight,  the  learned  Jesuit,  seems  to  think  there  were  two 
St.  Christophers,  the  Syrian  and  the  Italian,  although  he  re 
gards  the  latter  as  mythical,  or  a  creation  of  art.  Dr.  Butler 
mentions  but  one,  and  of  him  he  relates  the  entire  legend.  St. 
Christopher  is  represented  in  the  window-paintings  of  the  cathe 
drals  of  the  West  as  wading  through  the  sea  of  tribulations,  in 
allusion  to  his  many  struggles  and  sufferings  by  which  he 
attained  his  exalted  place  in  heaven.  In  this  fearful  passage, 
ending  in  his  martyrdom,  he  bore  the  Saviour  in  his  heart,  and 
thus  allegorically  is  represented  as  crossing  a  material  sea, 
and  carrying  Christ  upon  his  shoulders.  This  office  of  Christ- 
bearer  led  to  his  being  always  represented  as  of  immense  stature, 
an  emblem  of  the  strength  required  to  carry  in  safety  his  precious 
burden.  Dr.  Butler,  following  Baronius,  claims  this  representa 
tion  of  the  saint  as  purely  allegorical,  and  originating  in  the 
scenes  depicted  in  the  Gothic  cathedrals,  and  cites  the  beautiful 
epigram  of  Vida  in  confirmation  :  * 

"  Christophore,  infixum  quod  eum  usque  in  corde  gerebas, 
Pictores  Christum  dant  tibi  ferre  humeris, "  etc. 

— VIDA,  hym.  26,  t.  2,  p.  150. 

"  To  Christopher,  on  shoulders  strong, 
To  bear  the  Christ  o'er  seas  along, 

By  artists'  hands  was  given  ; 
Just  as  the  mystic  Lamb  he  bore, 
Within  his  gentle  heart  t'  adore, 

O'er  seas  of  blood — to  Heaven  !" 

The  mystic  letters  in  Columbus'  signature  are  not  unfamiliar  to 
ecclesiastical  scholars,  and  are,  in  fact,  somewhat  in  use  with 
members  of  religious  communities  in  our  own  day  and  country. 
The  admiral's  son,  Fernando,  who  wrote  his  father's  life,  informs 
us  that  whenever  Columbus  commenced  to  write  he  took  up 
the  pen  with  the  devout  prayer  in  Latin,  ' '  Jesus  cum  Maria  sit 
nobis  in  via'  (Jesus,  with  Mary,  be  with  us*  on  our  way).  Even 
now  the  same  devout  custom  prevails  among  religious  persons  ; 
and  my  own  experience,  like  that  of  the  learned  Tarducci,  has 
frequently  brought  to  me  letters  having  written  at  the  top  of 
the  sheet  the  names  in  Latin,  Jesus,  Maria,  Joseph,  or  J.  M.  J.— 
more  frequently  the  initials.  In  interpreting  the  signature  of 

*  Pimius,  the  Bollandists,  t.  6,  p.  125. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  473 

Columbus,  the  S.  at  the  top  is  construed  as  standing  for  Salva 
me  (save  me)  or  Salve  (hail).  The  second  line,  composed  of  the 
letters  S.  A.  S.,  while  Tarducci  says  they  "  have  never  been 
divined,"  are  to  be  read,  according  to  Spotorno,  who  is  also 
concurred  in  by  Tarducci,  in  connection  with  the  letters  of  the 
third  line,  X.  M.  Y.,  the  initial  letters  of  the  intended  words 
being  in  the  third  line  and  the  final  letters  of  the  same  words 
being  in  the  second  line.  Thus  the  third  and  second  lines,  taken 
together,  signify  Jesus,  Mary,  Joseph.  The  last  line  is  composed 
of  the  Greek  word  XPO  (for  Christo,  Christ)  and  the  Latin  word 
FERENS  (carrying),  and  simply  signifies  Christopher,  or  Christ- 
bearer  ;  and  from  the  significant  manner  in  which  it  is  formed  is 
evidently  intended  by  the  admiral  to  refer  to  his  great  mission, 
or  apostolate,  for  carrying  the  faith  of  Christ  to  heathen  nations. 
The  first  three  lines  of  the  signature,  an  interpretation  in  which 
Tarducci  and  other  writers  concur,  may  therefore  be  rendered 
thus  : 

•  S  •  (Salve. ) 

s    „       A-          s.  § 

3  -S  t, 

•S3  k  If 

X    ^          M    I          Y     £ 

Other  signatures  of  Columbus,  such  as  that  to  his  will,  the 
instrument  by  which  he  created  the  entail  of  his  estates,  con 
tained  the  same  letters,  but  was  signed  EL  ALMIRANTE,  in 
stead  of  XPO  FERENS.  It  is  a  common  practice  in  Spanish 
countries  still  to  use  the  ejaculation  in  Spanish,  "  Jesus,  Maria  y 
Jos6. "  While  the  North  American  Review  for  April,  1827,  sug 
gests  the  substitution  of  Jesus  for  Joseph  at  the  last  letter  of  the 
third  line  of  the  signature,  the  name  of  Joseph  is  the  necessary 
complement  of  the  three  sacred  names  in  general  use.* 

The  work  of  the  Co\mt  de  Lorgues  dwells  at  length  on  the 
patron  saint  of  Columbus.  He  represents  him  as  a  pagan,  whose 
name  was  Opherus,  a  Syrian,  and  of  gigantic  stature.  Having 
become  a  Christian  on  witnessing  a  miracle,  he  took  the  name 
of  Christopher,  or  Christ-bearer.  It  was  from  his  name  rather 

*  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  Hi.,  pp.  452,  453  ;  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tar- 
ducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  226  ;  Count  de  Lorgues'  "Life  of  Columbus," 
Dr.  Barry's  translation,  pp.  579-85. 


4/4  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS. 

than  from  any  mission  or  apostolate  or  labors  that  he  performed 
that  he  is  represented  as  bearing  Christ  upon  his  shoulders.  In 
the  application  of  the  symbols  to  Columbus,  they,  as  well  as  the 
name  itself,  are  regarded  as  prophetic  of  the  admiral's  mission 
to  discover  heathen  lands  and  nations,  and  to  open  the  way  for 
their  receiving  Christ  and  His  religion,  which  he  is  credited 
with  carrying  to  them.  The.  aptness  of  the  application  is  most 
striking  and  engaging.  The  profoundly  religious  character  of 
Columbus,  and  his  extraordinary  zeal  for  the  extension  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ,  render  the  application  most  fitting  and  appro 
priate. 

The  Count  de  Lorgues  interprets  the  admiral's  signature  differ 
ently  somewhat  from  the  above  rendition,  and  as  follows  :  SER- 
vus  SUPPLEX  ALTISSIMI  SALVATORIS.  —  CHRISTUS,  MARIA, 
JOSEPH. — CHRISTO  FERENS.  The  translation  in  English  runs 
thus  :  THE  SUPPLIANT  SERVANT  OF  THE  MOST  HIGH  SAVIOUR.— 
JESUS,  MARY,  JOSEPH.— CHRIST-BEARER.* 


*  Barry's  translation  of  De  Lorgues'  "Columbus,"  p.  357. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

"  Press  on  !  for  it  is  godlike  to  unloose 
The  spirit,  and  forget  yourself  in  thought ; 
Be'ndinga  pinion  for  the  deeper  sky, 
And  in  the  very  fetters  of  your  flesh, 
Mating  with  the  pure  essences  of  heaven  ! 
Press  on  !  for  in  the  grave  there  is  no  work, 
And  no  device.     Press  on  !  while  yet  you  may  !" 

— WILLIS'S  "  POEMS." 

SUSTAINED  by  the  strong  arm  of  his  faithful  brother,  Don 
Bartholomew,  and  by  the  amiable  and  affectionate  companion 
ship  of  his  second  son,  Don  Fernando,  then  scarcely  fourteen 
years  old,  the  admiral  undertook  this  his  fourth  and  important 
expedition,  with  the  brave  spirit  and  enduring  cheerfulness  of 
his  younger  days.  His  health,  however,  was  greatly  impaired, 
and  he  felt  the  inroads  upon  his  naturally  robust  constitution  made 
by  the  labors,  exposures,  disappointments,  watchings,  and  respon 
sibilities  of  his  previous  expeditions,  and  still  more  by  the  wrongs, 
injustice,  and  humiliations  he  had  received  ;  but  his  mind  was 
clear,  strong,  and  buoyant,  and  his  spirit  was  ardent,  energetic, 
and  robust.  Though  he  was  not  far  from  his  sixtieth  year,  he 
undertook  this  arduous  and  adventurous  voyage  with  an  eye 
bright  with  enthusiasm,  with  a  courage  sustained  by  the  grandeur 
of  his  conceptions  and  aspirations,  and  with  the  elasticity  of  charac 
ter  which  had  distinguished  him  in  the  prime  of  life.  He  always 
•esteemed  this  expedition  as  one  of  the  most  important  and 
momentous  of  his  career. 

Just  as  the  squadron  was  about  to  sail  from  Cadiz,  news  arrived 
that  the  Portuguese  fortress  of  Arzilla,  on  the  coast  of  Morocco, 
was  blockaded  by  the  Moorish  fleet.  In  accordance  with  the 
chivalrous  customs  of  the  age,  by  the  instructions  of  the  gov 
ernment,  and  with  his  own  instincts  as  Grand  Admiral  of  Castile, 
he  sailed  to  the  relief  of  the  Christian  garrison  then  threatened 
by  the  Mohammedans.  Finding  on  his  arrival  that  the  siege 


4/6  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

was  raised,  and  that  the  governor  had  received  a  wound  in  its 
gallant  defence,  he  sent  his  brother,  the  Adelantado,  and  his 
son,  Fernando,  and  the  captains  of  the  caravels  on  shore  to  visit 
the  governor,  to  express  his  sympathy  and  friendship,  and  to 
tender  the  services  of  the  Spanish  squadron.  This  act  of  courtesy 
wa^  gratefully  received,  and  a  deputation  of  Portuguese  cavaliers 
was  sent  in  return  to  visit  the  admiral  and  express  the  thanks  of 
the  governor  of  the  fortress.  Among  the  visitors  were  relatives 
of  the  admiral's  first  wife,  Donna  Felippa  Moniz.  After  ex 
changing  compliments,  the  admiral  again  sailed,  touched  at  the 
Grand  Canary  on  May  25th,  and  after  a  favorable  voyage  the 
fleet  arrived  on  June  i$th  at  Mantinino,  one  of  the  Caribbean 
Islands. 

Necessity  now  compelled  Columbus,  contrary  to  his  orders 
from  the  government,  to  sail  for  San  Domingo,  on  account  of 
the  principal  vessel's  inability  to  carry  her  sails,  thus  constantly 
embarrassing  and  delaying  the  squadron.  His  plan  had  been  to 
sail  directly  for  Jamaica,  and  thence  toward  the  continent  near 
Paria,  in  search  of  the  passage,  which  he  thought  he  would  dis 
cover  farther  to  the  west  by  following  the  coasts  in  that  direc 
tion,  and  thus  achieve  the  great  solution  of  the  connection  or 
union  between  the  two  oceans.  His  reason  for  touching  at  San 
Domingo  was  for  the  purpose  of  exchanging  his  faulty  vessel  for 
one  of  the  ships  which  had  recently  carried  Ovando  to  His- 
paniola,  or  to  purchase  there  another  ship.  Although  the  reasons 
for  the  orders  forbidding  his  going  to  San  Domingo  were  pru 
dently  and  wisely  based  upon  the  risk  and  imprudence  of  his 
making  his  appearance  there  in  the  disordered  condition  of 
affairs,  and  just  as  Ovando  had  arrived  and  Bobadilla  was  about 
to  depart,  the  admiral's  necessity  and  the  interests  of  the  public 
service,  unforeseen  as  they  were  by  the  government,  scarcely 
left  him  any  other  alternative. 

Ovando  having  arrived  at  San  Domingo  on  April  I5th,  he  was 
received  by  Bobadilla  and  the  inhabitants  on  the  shore  with  all 
the  ceremony  of  Spanish  punctilio.  Escorted  to  the  fortress,, 
the  usual  official  oaths  were  taken,  and  the  new  governor  entered 
upon  his  duties  with  apparently  prudent  energy  and  cool  delib 
eration.  Bobadilla's  downfall  had  taught  him  at  least  the  neces 
sity  of  treating  others  with  courtesy  and  respect,  and  now,  too 
late,  he  saw  his  past  folly.  Neglected  by  all,  deserted  even  by 


ON  COLUMBUS.  477 

the  people  to  whom  he  had  given  everything,  and  whose  pas 
sions  he  had  favored  and  indulged,  he  was  now  of  not  sufficient 
importance  to  challenge  attention.  The  conduct  of  Roldan  and 
his  late  confederates  in  rebellion  was  rigidly  investigated  by 
Ovando,  and  the  chief  rebel  himself  and  most  of  the  others  were 
now  commanded  to  return  to  Spain  to  answer  for  their  conduct. 
It  is  said  that  they  confidently  expected  whgn  at  home  to  gain 
immunity  for  their  crimes  and  outrages  under  the  patronage  of 
Fonseca,  and  by  the  influence  of  their  friends.  It  was  a  shame 
ful  sight  to  behold  these  outlaws,  the  unworthy  representatives 
of  civilization  and  Christianity,  confidently  returning  to  Spain 
loaded  with  quantities  of  gold,  and  relying  upon  this  ill-gotten 
treasure  for  their  pardon  or  escape  from  a  just  punishment. 
Bobadilla,  though  more  from  neglect  or  indifference  escaping 
any  formal  accusations  or  trial,  and  sent  back  to  Spain  more  to 
get  rid  of  him  than  otherwise,  trusted  confidently  to  the  magic 
power  of  gold.  He  was  to  embark  in  the  principal  ship  of  the 
returning  fleet.  He  placed  on  board  a  huge  quantity  of  gold, 
consisting  of  the  revenues  he  had  collected  in  gold  for  the  crown 
by  the  hard  labors  of  the  natives,  as  well  as  his  own  acquisitions. 
Among  the  golden  treasures  placed  on  the  ship  was  a  celebrated 
treasure,  a  solid  mass  of  virgin  gold,  which  an  Indian  girl  had 
accidentally  found  in  the  mines  while  carelessly  moving  her  rake 
to  and  fro  ;  and  as  it  was  found  on  the  estates  of  Francisco  de 
Garay  and  Miguel  Diaz,  a  suitable  compensation  was  made  to 
them  in  order  to  secure  it  for  the  king.  It  was  said  to  have 
weighed  thirty-six  hundred  castellanos  and  to  be  worth  1,350,000 
maravedis,  or  nearly  $2080  of  our  money.  The  finding  of  this 
valuable  deposit  was  celebrated  at  San  Domingo  in  a  manner 
peculiar  to  the  times  and  situation.  A  grand  dinner  was  given 
in  honor  of  the  treasure,  at  which  the  mass  of  gold  itself  was 
quaintly  and  whimsically  used  as  a  platter  for  serving  a  roasted 
pig,  and  it  was  jocosely  remarked  by  the  guests  that  never  had 
Castilian  king  eaten  from  so  valuable  a  service.  While  Bishop 
Las  Casas  slyly  questions  whether  the  poor  Indian  girl  received 
any  part  of  the  treasure  or  its  price,  Tarducci  wittily  remarks 
that  history  has  not  recorded  her  receiving  a  taste  of  the  pig. 

Roldan  and  his  chief  confederates  in  rebellion  embarked  on  the 
same  ship  with  Bobadilla,  and  each  of  these  was  to  carry  home 
immense  treasures  in  gold,  and  these,  together  with  the  royal 


478  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

portions,  gave  to  the  flagship  the  richest  cargo  of  gold  which 
had  ever  been  collected.  It  is  also  to  be  related  that  on  this 
vessel,  and  in  such  unworthy  company,  was  placed  the  sad  and 
unfortunate  native  chief  Guarionex,  loaded  with  chains,  which 
should  have  been  more  appropriately  worn  by  his  Spanish 
masters  on  board.  On  another  vessel  was  embarked  the  ad 
miral's  representative,  Alonzo  Sanchez  de  Carvajal,  who  had 
recovered  from  Bobadilla  a  portion  of  the  admiral's  revenues  and 
secured  other  portions  of  it,  so  that  the  restored  property 
amounted  to  four  thousand  pieces  of  gold. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  of  readiness  to  sail  that  the  little  fleet 
of  Columbus  appeared  off  San  Domingo  on  June  29th.  The 
admiral,  with  that  close  and  unequalled  observation  and  knowl 
edge  of  natural  phenomena  for  which  he  was  pre-eminently  dis 
tinguished,  had  detected  an  approaching  storm  when  no  one  else 
could  see  the  slightest  sign  of  one.  He  now  sent  on  shore  Pedro 
di  Tereros,  one  of  his  captains,  to  request  permission  to  ex 
change  for  a  good  ship  in  port  his  own  ship,  which  was  unfit  for 
the  service,  or  to  purchase  one,  and  asking  permission  to  take 
shelter  with  his  ships  in  the  harbor  from  the  violent  hurricane 
he  saw  approaching.  While  it  was  known  that  Columbus  had 
instructions  not  to  stop  at  San  Domingo,  and  probably  Ovando 
had  been  so  advised,  and  possibly  had  received  instructions  not 
to  admit  him  to  enter  in  case  he  came  there — an  arrangement,  no 
doubt,  rendered  advisable  by  the  distracted  state  of  the  colony 
and  the  presence  there  of  so  many  of  his  enemies — yet  the  stress 
under  which  Columbus  found  himself,  in  order  to  save  the  ships 
of  the  government  in  his  fleet,  and  to  promote  the  public  inter 
ests  in  the  prosecution  of  the  voyage  undertaken  for  the  glory 
and  profit  of  Spain,  fully  justifies  his  request.  A  stranger,  even 
a  public  enemy  would  have  been  permitted  to  take  shelter  from 
a  storm  ;  but  even  this  courtesy  of  a  common  humanity  was  denied 
to  Columbus.  It  is  alleged,  in  extenuation  of  Ovando's  refusal, 
that  he  might  have  justly  regarded  the  reasons  assigned  by 
Columbus  for  entering  the  port  as  mere  pretexts  and  ridiculous 
inventions  ;  because,  as  he  might  have  asked,  how  could  a  ship 
only  two  months  at  sea  be  now  unseaworthy  ?  and  how  could  a 
storm  be  given  as  a  reason  when  no  one  could  detect  the  slight 
est  sign  of  one  approaching  ?  These  excuses  fell  to  the  ground 
soon  afterward  by  the  established  facts  in  each  case  ;  and  the 


ON   COLUMBUS.  479 

well-known  reputation  of  Columbus  as  a  navigator,  his  acknowl 
edged  truthfulness  of  character,  and  his  exalted  personal  and 
official  position,  all  entitled  him  to  the  credit  of  good  faith.  It 
was  but  natural  that  the  admiral  should  feel  deeply  wounded 
and  insulted  at  this  refusal.  In  his  letter  soon  afterward  written 
to  the  sovereigns,  he  thus  expresses  himself  :  "  Who,  not  even 
excepting  Job,  would  not  have  died  of  despair  to  see,  when  my 
safety  and  that  of  my  son,  my  brother,  and  my  other  friends, 
was  at  stake,  under  these  circumstances  access  forbidden  me  to 
that  land  and  shelter  in  that  port  which,  by  the  will  of  God  and 
at  the  price  of  my  blood,  I  had  won  for  Spain." 

Even  under  such  an  indignity  Columbus's  magnanimity  pre 
vailed  over  his  anger,  and  he  immediately  sent  the  officer, 
Tereros,  back  to  beseech  the  governor  at  least  not  to  permit  the 
fleet  to  depart  for  Spain  or  go  to  sea,  as  a  fearful  storm  was 
surely  approaching,  and  almost  certain  destruction  would  await 
the  ships  exposed  to  the  coming  hurricane.  But  as  no  other 
person  or  seaman  or  pilot  could  observe  the  slightest  indications 
of  a  storm,  and  all  were  impatient  to  sail  for  home,  the  predic 
tions  of  Columbus  were  treated  with  laughter  and  scorn,  and  the 
fleet  immediately  put  to  sea.  The  effect  of  this  disdainful  refusal 
to  their  commander  to  enter  a  port  of  their  own  country,  or  even 
to  take  shelter  from  a  storm,  so  sadly  and  even  superstitiously 
impressed  the  minds  of  the  admiral's  crews,  that  they  murmured 
against  the  ill-treated  admiral  himself  as  if  he  were  the  cause  of 
their  exclusion,  and  they  anticipated  nothing  but  disaster  under 
a  commander  who  was  thus  denied  the  common  offices  of  hu 
manity.  The  fact  alone,  without  reference  to  its  injustice,  was 
in  their  morbid  imaginations  an  ill.  omen  ;  but  soon  the  portents 
were  reversed.  They  almost  immediately  afterward  acknowl 
edged  that  they  owed  their  preservation  to  the  very  presence  in 
some  way,  perhaps  even  miraculously,  as  the  Count  de  Lorgues 
contends,  of  Columbus  on  their  fleet. 

While  Columbus  took  a  partial  shelter  from  the  predicted 
storm  in  one  of  the  harbors  of  this  wild  coast,  the  magnificent 
fleet  of  Bobadilla,  consisting  of  twenty-eight  vessels,  with  gayest 
music  and  joyous  songs  of  home,  put  to  sea,  leaving  behind  them 
the  harbor  of  safety.  Scarcely  had  they  reached  the  eastern 
end  of  Hispaniola  before  the  storm  signs  gathered,  and  so  rapidly 
did  the  tempest  burst  upon  the  fleet,  that  no  time  was  given 


480  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

them  for  any  measures  of  safety.  Accustomed  as  was  this  lati 
tude  to  violent  storms,  this  was  one  of  the  most  violent  ever  ex 
perienced.  The  first  ship  to  sustain  the  shock  of  the  hurricane 
was  the  flagship,  having  on  board  Bobadilla,  Roldan,  and  the  other 
most  inveterate  enemies  of  Columbus.  Driven  violently  on  a 
rock,  she  sank  with  all  on  board.  Immense  treasure  went  to  the 
bottom  with  them.  All  the  other  ships  were  broken  to  pieces, 
and  all  were  engulfed  and  perished  with  their  crews  except  four. 
Of  these  four  three,  with  great  difficulty  and  in  a  miserable  state, 
reached  San  Domingo  ;  but  the  fourth,  the  very  ship  on  which 
was  Carvajal  with  the  admiral's  gold  and  other  property,  the 
smallest  of  the  fleet,  rode  the  storm  triumphantly  and  in  the 
midst  of  universal  wreck.  This  gallant  little  craft  crossed  the 
Atlantic  in  safety,  and  landed  in  Spain  with  every  man  and  every 
ounce  of  gold.  In  the  mean  time,  the  four  vessels  of  the  admiral, 
all  verging  on  unseaworthiness,  survived  the  storm  in  safety, 
and  while  three  of  them — those  that  stood  out  to  sea  for  safety 
from  the  rocks — sustained  some  injury,  that  in  which  the  admiral 
was  came  forth  totally  uninjured.  The  four  ships  were  sepa 
rated  during  the  storm,  and  the  crew  of  each  gave  the  other 
three  up  for  lost.  The  ship  which  suffered  most  was  the  large 
caravel,  which  the  admiral  had  desired  to  exchange  at  San 
Domingo,  and  which  was  saved  solely  by  the  consummate  sea 
manship  of  the  Adelantado.  What  was  not  the  joy  of  all  on 
board  when,  on  the  following  Sunday,  the  three  ships  at  sea 
joined  the  admiral's  in  the  harbor  of  Azua,  just  west  of  San 
Domingo.  • 

Columbus  was  now  regarded  as  a  seer  by  his  crews,  who  so 
lately  bemoaned  their  sad  fate  in  sailing  with  him.  His  enemies 
regarded  these  extraordinary  occurrences  as  grounds  for  fresh 
accusations,  for  he  had,  according  to  their  malignant  and  super 
stitious  clamor,  raised  the  storm  by  magic  for  the  destruction  of 
his  enemies  and  their  property,  while  he  and  his  ships  and  crews 
escaped  ;  and  even  the  ship  which  contained  his  property, 
though  belonging  to  the  lost  fleet,  escaped  in  safety  with  its 
treasures  to  Spain.  The  admiral  himself,  in  his  usual  impulse 
of  devotion  and  gratitude,  referring  all  things  to  God,  pro 
nounced  his  preservation  and  the  safety  of  his  ships  and  prop 
erty  as  a  great  public  miracle.  In  Spain  such  a  calamity,  so 
general,  so  national,  was  regarded  with  consternation,  and  was 


ON   COLUMBUS.  481 

followed  by  general  mourning.  The  sovereigns  reproved  Ovando 
for  refusing  permission  to  Columbus  to  enter  the  port,  and  for 
not  detaining  the  fleet  as  he  had  advised.  How  would  it  have 
been  if  the  storm  had  not  occurred  ?  Ovando  would  have  been 
praised,  while  Columbus  would  have  received  the  censure  of 
both  sovereigns  and  people.  It  seemed,  not  unfairly  and  justly, 
to  require  a  miracle  to  sustain  in  such  a  crisis  the  cause  of 
Columbus — which  was,  in  fact,  the  cause  of  civilization  and 
human  progress — against  the  elements  of  selfishness  and  jeal 
ousy,  malice  and  hatred,  which  exist  against  the  good  and  great 
in  all  ages  and  countries — an  element  so  ignorant  and  narrow  as 
not  to  see  and  to  know  that  human  progress  and  civilization  are 
carried  forward  in  the  world  by  the  energy  and  genius  of  great 
leaders  of  thought  and  of  men.  There  were  few  of  his  contem 
poraries  who  recognized  such  a  man  in  Christopher  Columbus. 
Now  the  fact  is  historical,  and  of  general  recognition. 

After  spending  several  days  in  the  harbor  of  Azua,  resting  his 
crews,  and  in  refreshing  them  on  the  savory  food  they  found  in 
the  flesh  of  a  large  fish  harpooned  and  caught  in  the  bay,  the 
squadron  sailed  on  July  I4th,  and  after  spending  some  days  at 
the  small  islands  near  Jamaica,  which  he  named  the  Pozas  or 
Puddles,  in  a  calm,  and  again  at  the  Queen's  Gardens,  near  Cuba, 
they  sailed  again  on  the  2/th  to  the  southwest,  toward  the  conti 
nent.  On  July  3Oth,  having  come  upon  a  small  island,  now 
known  as  Guanaja,  the  Adelantado,  at  the  admiral's  .request, 
landed  and  found  the  soil  fertile  and  green  and  the  inhabitants 
similar  to  those  of  Hispaniola,  except  that  their  foreheads  were 
more  narrow.  While  thus  engaged  in  examining  the  island,  a 
very  large  Indian  canoe  approached  the  shore  from  the  west, 
and  was  captured  with  its  occupants  and  carried  to  the  admiral. 
It  was  found  to  be  hollowed,  like  others  they  had  seen,  from  the 
trunk  of  a  single  tree,  as  long  as  a  galley,  eight  feet  wide  ;  it  car 
ried  twenty-five  rowers,  and  had  erected  in  the  centre  an  awning 
or  tent  made  of  palm  leaves,  under  whose  shelter  reposed  the 
cacique  with  his  wives  and  children.  Columbus  was  deeply 
interested  in  examining  the  men,  the  arrows,  and  other  articles 
of  manufacture  or  production,  all  clearly  indicating  his  approach 
to  countries  of  some  civilization.  He  was  particularly  struck  at 
finding  among  these  people  hatchets  made  of  brass  and  other 
admirably  constructed  tools,  which  resembled  those  afterward 


482  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

found  in  Mexico,  and  formed  either  of  clay,  hard  wood  or 
marble.  These  natives  were  not  in  the  least  afraid  of  the  Span 
iards  or  their  large  ships  ;  both 'the  men  and  the  women  were 
modestly  clad,  and  among  their  articles  of  food  were  bread  made 
of  maize,  a  beverage  made  of  the  same,  quantities  of  cacao, 
which  the  Spaniards  had  never  before  seen,  and  which  the 
Indians  so  highly  prized  that  they  used  it  both  for  food  and 
money.  The  women  not  only  wore  a  jacket,  which  was  colored 
and  embroidered,  but  also  a  large  sheet  or  blanket,  which  envel 
oped  their  persons,  and  with  which  they  covered  their  heads  and 
part  of  the  face.  No  doubt  these  Indians  came  from  Yucatan, 
for  they  informed  the  admiral  that  they  came  from  a  very  rich 
country  lying  to  the  west,  where  wealth  abounded,  and  which 
was  possessed  of  a  fertile  soil.  They  urged  the  admiral  to  sail 
thither.  But  he,  ever  intent  on  discovering  the  strait  be 
tween  the  two  oceans,  preferred  to  sail  to  the  south  and  to  the 
mainland,  expecting  to  follow  and  explore  the  coast  from  Paria 
eastwardly  until  he  should  discover  the  desired  passage.  He 
dismissed  the  Indians  with  the  exception  of  an  old  man,  named 
Jumbe,  who, proved  to  be  an  intelligent  guide  and  interpreter, 
and  by  exchanges  obtained  some  of  the  implements  and  products 
of  the  country.  He  intended  to  visit  these  Indians  and  their 
country  later,  as  he  believed  he  would  reach  them  by  fol 
lowing  the  coast  of  Cuba,  which  he  still  thought  was  the  main 
land,  and  whose  shores  must  extend  to  those  regions.  Yucatan 
was,  in  fact,  only  forty  leagues  distant,  and  had  he  immediately 
accepted  the  invitation  of  the  natives,  what  changes  would  have 
occurred  in  the  history  and  fortunes  of  Columbus  ! 

During  all  this  time  the  squadron  had  experienced  nothing  but 
rough  and  tempestuous  weather.  The  sailors  had  struggled  day 
and  night  with  the  elements,  were  exhausted  and  sickened  ;  the 
miserable  ships  seemed  at  every  moment  about  to  founder.  "In 
the  midst  of  such  continued  dangers  and  hardships  for  eighty- 
eight  days,  many  of  the  sailors  religiously  prepared  for  death  by 
confessing  to  each  other,  or  endeavored  to  propitiate  Heaven  by 
vows  to  make  pilgrimages  on  escaping  safely  their  ever-threat 
ened  fate.  It  was  impossible  to  enter  a  harbor  in  the  midst  of 
such  storms  ;  the  sun  and  stars  could  not  be  seen,  the  thunder 
and  lightning  were  terrific,  the  ships  leaked  on  every  side,  the 
sails  were  rent,  anchors  and  tackle  were  lost,  the  cables,  small 


ON   COLUMBUS.  483 

boats,  and  even  the  provisions  were  not  saved.  It  was  under 
such  difficulties  that  this  great  discoverer,  though  ill  and  dis 
couraged,  sought  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  earth.  To  add  to 
his  extreme  peril,  his  illness  brought  him  to  the  point  of  death, 
while  his  ever-vigilant  mind  was  most  anxious  for  the  safety  of 
his  young  son  and  for  that  of  his  brother,  who  had  accom 
panied  him  against  his  will  and  purely  through  love  and  affec 
tion.  "  Another  thought  that  tore  my  heart,"  wrote  the  ad 
miral,  "  was  the  remembrance  of  my  son  Diego,  left  an  orphan 
in  Spain,  and  deprived  of  my  honors  and  emoluments." 
Carried  by  wind  and  weather  to  the  Pozas  Islands,  near 
Jamaica,  and  even  near  to  Cuba,  the  admiral  persevered  in 
his  struggle  with  elements  and  storms,  and  without  waiting 
for  good  weather  or  favorable  winds,  he  had  reached  Guanaja 
on  August  I4th,  and  Cape  Caxinas,  now  known  as  Cape  Hon 
duras,  on  the  i6th.  It  is  certainly  an  evidence  of  indomita 
ble  will,  a  proof  of  the  characteristic  courage  and  tenacity  of  his 
character,  that  under  such  circumstances  he  took  possession  of 
the  country  on  August  i/th,  in  the  name  of  the  Spanish  sover 
eigns,  at  a  spot  about  fifteen  leagues  from  Cape  Caxinas,  on  the 
banks  of  a  river  which  he  called  the  River  of  Possession.  Had 
Columbus  yielded  to  the  advice  of  the  Indians  in  the  large  canoe 
at  Guanaja,  and  pushed  westward  to  the  continent,  he  would 
have  reached  Yucatan  in  one  or  two  days,  and,  as  Mr.  Irving 
remarks,  "  The  discovery  of  Mexico  and  other  opulent  countries 
of  New  Spain  would  have  necessarily  followed  ;  the  Southern 
Ocean  would  have  been  disclosed  to  him,  and  a  succession  of 
splendid  discoveries  would  have  shed  fresh  glory  on  his  declin 
ing  age,  instead  of  its  sinking  amid  gloom,  neglect,  and  disap 
pointment." 

Continuing  his  course  to  the  east,  and  hugging  the  coast  as 
far  as  possible  in  order  to  find  the  expected  strait,  the  great 
object  of  his  expedition,  they  reached  the  eastern  end  of  Hon 
duras,  where  the  coast  bends  suddenly  to  the  south.  Here,  for 
the  first  time  since  their  departure  from  Hispaniola,  the  winds 
blew  in  their  favor,  and  for  so  unusual  a  favor  the  sailors  burst 
forth  in  hymns  of  gratitude  to  God.  The  admiral,  ever  devout 
and  religious  in  his  character  and  life,  gratefully  called  .the  cape 
Gracias  a  Dios.  As  the  geographical  knowledge  of  the  old 
Indian  guide  Jumbe  did  not  extend  beyond  this  point,  he  was 


484  OLD   AND    NEW   LIGHTS 

kindly  discharged  and  sent  home.  At  the  River  of  Possession, 
near  Cape  Caxinas,  the  natives  appeared  in  numbers,  were 
friendly  and  hospitable,  and  brought  to  their  visitors  abundant 
supplies  of  bread  and  maize,  fish  and  fowl,  vegetables  and  fruits. 
After  presenting  these  gifts  by  laying  them  before  the  Spaniards, 
the}'  silently  retired  to  a  distance  ;  received  presents  in  return 
with  marked  pleasure,  and  returned  next  day  in  greater  numbers 
and  with  more  generous  supplies  of  food.  Composed  probably 
of  different  tribes,  the  natives,  as  the  Spaniards  progressed, 
spoke  different  dialects,  and  differed  from  each  other  in  dress, 
decorations,  and  customs.  While  they  resembled  the  Indians 
seen  in  the  islands,  they  had  lower  foreheads,  and  were  most 
careful  in  covering  their  persons.  As  the  Spaniards  progressed 
along  the  coast,  this  modesty  disappeared  ;  the  natives  were  en 
tirely  naked.  They  painted  parts  of  their  bodies  black,  and  had 
their  ears  pierced  with  such  large  holes — as  large  as  a  hen's  egg 
— that  their  visitors  called  their  country  Coast  of  the  Ear.  Some 
were  said  by  Jumbe  to  be  cannibals,  though  the  Spaniards  saw 
them  do  no  worse  than  eat  raw  fish.  In  another  part  of  the 
coast  the  natives  marked  their  bodies  with  the  figures  of  various 
animals,  using  fire  for  that  purpose.  Some  wore  long  tufts  of 
hair  on  their  foreheads  as  ornaments,  and  on  feast  days  some 
of  the  tribes  painted  their  bodies  red  or  black,  or  made  stripes 
on  their  bodies  and  faces  and  circles  around  their  eyes.  Young 
Fernando  Columbus  was  astonished  at  such  grotesque  tastes, 
and  thirty  years  later,  when  he  wrote  his  father's  life,  he  recalled 
their  hideous  appearance,  and  said  :  "  They  all  believe  that  in 
these  different  states  they  are  perfectly  beautiful,  whereas  they 
are  frightful  as  the  very  devils."  * 

It  was  September  I4th,  1502,  when  Columbus  turned  his  prows 
southward  from  Cape  Gracias  a  Dios,  and  explored  the  Mosquito 
Coast,  which  presented  many  varieties  of  rock,  meadow,  and 
fresh  rivers,  with  abundance  of  fish  and  tortoises,  rank  vegeta 
tion,  and  great  quantities  of  large  alligators  basking  in  the  sun. 
With  a  smooth  sea  and  favorable  wind  the  squadron  reached  on 
the  1 5th  a  fine  river  with  a  good  harbor,  where  wood  and  water 


*  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  De  Lorgues'  "Columbus,"  pp.  441-59;  Irving's 
"Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  305-20  ;  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Colum 
bus,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  227-40. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  485 

were  procured  ;  but  just  as  the  ships  were  about  to  leave  the 
harbor,  the  sea  suddenly  rose  and  then  rushed  back  with  great 
violence  into  the  mouth  of  the  river,  capsizing  one  of  the  ships, 
and  carrying  all  on  board  to  the  bottom.  Naming  the  place 
Rio  del  Desastre,  or  Disaster  River,  in  token  of  their  having 
encountered  a  renewal  of  their  sad  experiences,  and  now  again 
continuing  their  course  with  a  favorable  wind,  they  reached,  on 
Sunday,  September  25th,  a  secure  spot  between  a  small  island 
and  the  mainland.  The  admiral  now  rested  his  men  from  the 
fatigues  and  labors  of  the  past  three  months,  and  repaired  his 
ships.  So  beautiful  was  the  landscape,  so  delightful  the  country 
on  every  side,  that  the  admiral  called  the  place  the  Orchard. 
The  native  name  was  Quiribiri,  and  a  beautiful  village  on  the 
banks  of  a  charming  river  was  called  Cariay.  At  first  the  natives 
came  forth  with  arms  to  defend  their  country,  but  as  the  Span 
iards  remained  quietly  at  work  on  their  ships,  hostility  was  suc 
ceeded  by  curiosity,  then  by  visits  and  the  exchange  of  presents. 
But  when  the  Spaniards  gave  them  presents  and  refused  to  re 
ceive  any  from  the  natives,  the  latter  with  wounded  pride  gath 
ered  up  all  they  had  received  from  their  visitors  and  left  them 
in  a  bundle  on  the  shore.  Finally  the  Indians  sent  two  girls  to 
the  ships  as  hostages  for  the  safety  of  the  Spaniards,  who  might 
come  ashore,  and  these  girls  the  admiral  entertained  hospitably, 
gave  them  fine  dresses  and  presents,  and  sent  them  ashore, 
where  they  were  received  with  great  delight.  But  the  Indians, 
after  holding  a  consultation  among  themselves,  insisted  on  re 
turning  all  the  presents  received  by  the  girls,  because  their 
visitors  in  turn  would  receive  none.  It  is  interesting  and  almost 
unaccountable  thus  to  behold  savages,  utterly  destitute  of  civili 
zation  and  social  culture,  practising  a  refined  reserve  and  artifi 
cial  etiquette  not  always  observed  in  the  most  fastidious  and 
refined  communities. 

The  admiral  was  anxious  to  learn  more  of  this  interesting 
people  and  their  country.  He  sent  the  Adelantado  with  com 
panions  ashore  ;  and  as  he  approached  the  natives  came  forward 
in  the  water  to  meet  him,  and  two  of  them  took  him  from  his 
boat  and  carried  him  in  their  arms  to  the  beach,  and  seated  him 
with  ceremony,  in  the  midst  of  the  assembled  natives,  on  a  bed 
of  verdure  on  the  bank.  With  only  signs  and  gestures,  and  the 
play  of  the  features  of  the  face,  little  could  be  ascertained,  and 


486  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

when  the  natives  saw  the  notary  take  out  his  pens  and  ink  and 
commence  to  take  down  the  conjectured  responses  to  the  Ade- 
lantado's  inquiries,  by  drawing  his  hand  regularly  across  the 
paper  and  leaving  on  it  mystic  signs,  they  suddenly,  as  if  terror- 
stricken,  all  at  once  arose  and  fled  with  fright  and  precipitation. 
They  regarded  this  mysterious  proceeding  as  necromancy  and 
magic.  What  is  more  singular  in  this  event,  is  that  the  Indians 
returned  afterward  and  endeavored  to  dispel  the  effect  of  the 
dark  art  as  practised  on  them  by  the  Spaniards,  and  to  exorcise 
the  Spaniards  themselves,  by  casting  on  them  powder  and  smoke 
of  their  own  contrivance  ;  and  that  in  turn  the  Spaniards,  with  a 
superstition  perhaps  equal  to  that  of  the  Indians,  became  alarmed 
at  the  sorcery  practised  on  them  by  the  Indians.  While  the 
Indians,  steeped  in  sorcery,  suspected  every  act  of  the  Spaniards 
which  they  could  not  understand  to  belong  to  their  o\vn  dark 
art,  the  Spaniards  attributed  their  delays  and  hardships  on  that 
coast  to  the  magic  arts  of  the  natives.  Even  the  admiral  re 
garded  the  inhabitants  of  these  coasts  as  dangerous  enchanters, 
and  he  suspected  the  two  Indian  girls,  who  had  been  sent  on 
board  his  vessel,  of  having  the  magic  powder  hidden  under  their 
clothes.  He  gave  an  account  of  these  singular  impressions,  on 
both  sides,  in  a  letter  he  wrote  to  the  sovereigns  from  Jamaica. 

During  several  days'  delay  in  this  spot  the  ships  were  repaired, 
and  the  crews  were  permitted  to  enjoy  the  much-needed  rest 
and  recreation  they  desired,  while  the  energetic  and  untiring 
Adelantado  made  an  armed  expedition  of  observation  and  inves 
tigation  into  the  country.  He  found  no  pure  gold,  but  orna 
ments  of  the  baser  guanin  ;  but  as  usual  the  natives  assured  him 
that  gold  would  be  found  in  abundance  as  the  fleet  proceeded 
farther  down  the  coast.  One  custom  prevailing  among  these 
people  was  that  of  taking  special  care  of  the  remains  of  the  dead, 
and  paying  a  marked  veneration  to  them.  A  large  house  was 
seen  containing  a  number  of  sepulchres,  in  which  were  found  a 
dead  body  embalmed,  others  wrapped  in  cotton,  so  as  to  prevent 
any  disagreeable  odor.  The  bodies  of  the  dead  were  decked 
in  ornaments  more  valuable  than  those  worn  by  the  living,  and 
their  graves  were  embellished  with  rude  paintings  or  carvings, 
or  with  portraits  of  the  deceased.  Before  sailing  Columbus 
seized  seven  of  the  natives  for  guides,  but  their  countrymen  were 
exceedingly  distressed  or  incensed  at  this  act,  and  they  sent  four 


ON   COLUMBUS.  487 

of  their  principal  men  with  presents  to  the  ships,  to  entreat  the 
admiral  to  release  them.  Neither  the  presents  he  gave  in  return 
nor  the  assurances  of  his  intention  soon  to  restore  them  safely  to 
their  homes  succeeded  in  removing  the  fear  and  grief  of  these 
people  at  seeing  some  of  their  companions  carried  away  by  these 
fearful  and  mysterious  people.* 

Columbus  sailed  with  his  squadron  from  Cariay  on  October 
5th.  Having  coasted  along  a  region  of  great  verdure  and 
beauty,  he  came  to  another,  which  the  natives  of  Cariay  on  board 
called  Caribaro,  and  which  they  assured  the  Spaniards  abounded 
in  gold.  As  the  ships  proceeded  near  the  shores  the  men  were 
astonished  to  find  that  between  a  multitude  of  small  islands  the 
boats  passed  through  deep  channels  free  from  obstructions  as 
securely  as  if  they  were  artificial  canals,  while  the  hanging  spray 
of  trees  and  vines,  swept  the  rigging  and  masts  of  the  ships.  It 
was  a  scene  of  unsurpassed  beauty.  On  arriving  here  the  boats 
were  sent  to  one  of  the  islands,  where  the  Spaniards  saw  twenty 
canoes,  whose  late  occupants  had  timidly  hid  themselves  in  the 
woods  ;  they  were  perfectly  naked,  but  ornamented  with  gold 
plates.  They  exchanged  for  small  trifles  a  plate  of  gold  which 
was  worth  ten  ducats.  The  boats  were  sent  ashore  again  the 
day  after  their  arrival  at  Caribao.  A  number  of  canoes  were 
seen  on  the  shore  of  the  mainland  filled  with  Indians,  whose 
heads  were  garlanded  with  flowers  and  crowns  constructed  of 
.animals  and  birds'  feathers,  and  with  plates  of  pure  gold  around 
their  necks  ;  but  they  could  not  be  induced  to  part  with  their 
golden  ornaments.  When  two  of  these  natives  were  seized  and 
carried  before  the  admiral,  one  of  them  was  found  to  wear  a 
plate  of  gold  worth  fifteen  ducats,  and  another  an  eagle  of  gold, 
which  was  worth  twenty-two  ducats.  The  captured  Indians 
informed  the  admiral  that  there  were  places  in  the  interior,  and 
only  one  or  two  days'  journey  distant,  where  gold  abounded 
in  great  quantities.  They  mentioned  a  place  with  unbounded 
treasure,  which  they  called  Veragua,  a  name  which  afterward 
became  the  ducal  title  of  the  descendants  of  Columbus.  Veragua 
was  twenty-five  leagues  distant,  and  was  represented  as  particu- 


*  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  241- 
45  ;  Irving's  "Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  321-27;  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  De 
Lorgues'  "Columbus,"  p.  462. 


488  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

larly  rich  in  gold.  This  coast,  on  account  of  its  abundance  of 
mines  of  gold  and  silver,  was  afterward  called  and  is  now  known 
as  Costa  Rica. 

While  the  cupidity  of  his  companions  was  greatly  aroused  by 
the  sight  of  so  much  gold,  Columbus,  after  obtaining  only  speci 
mens  of  the  precious  metal,  and  all  the  information  the  natives 
could  impart,  was  unwilling  to  sacrifice  to  any  temporary  gain 
in  treasure  the  great  object  of  his  enterprise — the  discovery  of 
the  passage  he  was  seeking  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
oceans.  It  was  thus  with  Columbus  on  all  occasions  :  his  am 
bition  and  his  personal  glory,  his  fortunes  and  every  hope  of 
wealth,  were  subordinated  to  the  great  and  paramount  interests 
and  welfare  of  his  enterprise  and  country.  On  October  i/th  the 
admiral  commenced  the  exploration  of  the  coast  of  the  country 
of  great  reputed  wealth,  to  which  was  afterward  given  the  name 
of  Veragua,  a  name  now  indissolubly  associated  with  his  fame 
and  family.  He  proceeded  twelve  leagues,  and  then  the  boats 
went  ashore  for  wood  and  water ;  but  the  natives  assembled 
under  arms  and  with  every  indication  of  hostility  to  dispute  the 
approach  of  these  strangers,  even  advancing  out  into  the  water 
to  their  waists,  yelling,  brandishing  their  weapons,  and  spitting 
at  the  Spaniards  a  certain  herb  they  were  chewing.  Signs  of 
peace  from  the  Spanish  vessels  placated  the  warlike  savages, 
and  when  the  Spaniards  landed  they  obtained  readily  in  exchange 
for  bells  and  other  trifles  the  plates  of  gold  which  the  natives 
wore  around  their  necks.  Sixteen  plates  of  gold  of  the  value 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  ducats  were  thus  obtained  at  little 
cost.  On  the  28th  the  Spaniards  again  went  to  renew  the 
traffic  in  gold,  but  the  fickle  Indians  had  become  hostile  again, 
and  prepared  to  rush  from  their  concealment  and  attempt  the 
massacre  of  their  visitors.  Seeing  the  Spaniards  in  their  boats 
and  on  their  guard,  the  savages,  more  like  angry  children 
than  warriors,  rushed  forth  into  the  sea,  as  they  had  done  the 
day  before,  threatening  the  Spaniards  at  the  water's  edge,  while 
the  forests  resounded  with  their  war-whoops.  The  arrow  dis 
charged  from  a  Spanish  cross-bow,  which  wounded  a  native,  and 
the  discharge  of  a  gun  from  a  ship,  terrified  the  warlike  savages, 
and  put  them  to  flight  ;  but  again  the  Spanish  sailors  and 
soldiers,  by  calling  to  them,  soon  pacified  them,  and  secured 
more  plates  of  gold  in  exchange  for  European  trifles.  At  another 


ON  COLUMBUS.  489 

place  farther  along  the  coast,  and  called  Catiba,  the  same  scenes 
occurred  :  the  warlike  demonstrations  of  the  naked  natives  dis 
appeared  before  the  friendly  advances  of  the  visitors  ;  visits 
were  exchanged,  and  a  trade  in  plates  of  gold  and  hawks'  bells 
ensued.  At  this  place  nineteen  plates  of  gold  were  procured, 
and  here  for  the  first  time  were  seen  signs  of  permanent  build 
ing  ;  and  Columbus,  persuaded  that  he  was  approaching  a  region 
of  greater  civilization,  took  a  sample  from  a  large  piece  of  stucco 
composed  apparently  of  stone  and  lime. 

The  admiral  continued  his  voyage,  and  availed  himself  of  every 
opportunity  of  obtaining  specimens  of  the  products  of  the  country, 
and  all  possible  information  of  a  geographical  character  from 
the  natives.  After  encountering  another  terrific  storm,  which 
caused  him  to  forego  his  intention  of  visiting  the  various  rivers 
and  their  vicinities,  he  pushed  on  and  passed  five  large  villages, 
one  of  which  was  Veragua,  from  which  the  neighboring  district 
was  named.  Veragua  was  also  said  to  be  the  region  richest  in 
gold,  and  here  most  of  the  plates  of  gold  worn  by  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Mosquito  Coast  were  made.  Cubiga  was  said  to  be  the 
last  of  the  villages  in  this  golden  region,  which  commenced  at 
Cerabora  and  ended  here.  Rejecting  all  temptations  to  land 
and  explore  the  golden  region  of  Veragua,  Columbus  continued 
his  search  for  the  expected  passage  with  unwavering  constancy 
and  perseverance.  His  action  here  was  justly  mentioned  by 
Mr.  Irving  as  actuated  by  a  "  generous  ambition,"  seeking  rather 
the  benefit  of  mankind  than  wealth,  and  resting  satisfied  for  his 
own  part  with  ' '  the  glory  of  the  discovery."  * 

During  this  interesting  and  important  voyage,  the  investiga 
tions  and  inquiries,  the  information  and  suggestions  obtained  by 
Columbus  were  momentous  and  significant  ;  for  although  he  did 
not  discover  with  his  eyes  the  other  sea,  he  gathered  informa 
tion  which  unmistakably  showed  to  his  intelligent  judgment 
and,  when  revealed  by  him,  to  the  minds  of  the  world,  the  exist 
ence  of  the  other  ocean  beyond  the  land.  Convinced  that  he 
was  still  in  the  remote  parts  of  Asia,  as  all  the  world  believed 
with  him,  and,  in  common  with  the  other  learned  men  of  his 
age,  mistaken  as  to  the  size  of  the  earth,  he  concluded  that  the 
great  and  opulous  nation  called  by  the  natives  Ciguare,  whose 


Irving's  "Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  333. 


49°  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

inhabitants  wore  crowns  as  well  as  bracelets  and  anklets  of 
gold,  used  the  precious  metal  for  domestic  purposes  and  even 
for  ornamenting  their  seats  and  tables,  carried  on  an  immense 
commerce,  had  opulent  and  busy  seaports,  used  large  ships 
armed  with  cannon,  rode  on  horseback,  and  were  armed  very 
much  like  Europeans,  must  be  on  the  other  sea,  and  was  one  of 
the  domains  of  the  Grand  Khan.  This  view  was  confirmed  in 
his  mind  also  by  the  pepper  and  spices  shown  him,  which  he 
knew  well  were  among  the  products  of  Asia,  by  the  warlike 
character  of  the  natives  of  Ciguare,  as  represented  by  the  Indians, 
and,  while  the  sea  continued  round  to  that  country,  the  great 
river  ten  days'  travel  beyond  must  be  the  Ganges.  We  now 
know,  from  the  subsequent  discovery  and  conquest  of  the  rich 
countries  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  abounding  in  wealth  of  every 
kind,  that  these  latter  were  the  countries  of  whose  existence 
Columbus  was  the  first  European  to  obtain  the  least  and  the 
earliest  knowledge.  Had  he  been  furnished  with  suitable  squad 
rons  and  with  ample  military  and  naval  means  and  outfits,  his 
enterprising  career  would  unquestionably  have  been  crowned 
by  the  discovery  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  of  the  two  Continents  of 
America,  and  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Continuing  his  cruise,  Columbus,  on  November  2d,  arrived  at 
a  large  and  beautiful  bay,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Puerto 
Bello,  to  commemorate  its  beauty.  Here  he  saw  the  houses  of 
the  natives  scattered  through  a  beautiful  grove,  with  plantations 
of  maize,  vegetables,  and  fruits.  The  natives  were  friendly  and 
hospitable,  generous  with  their  provisions  and  fruits,  possessed 
no  gold  except  small  ornaments  of  it,  which  the  cacique  and  his 
seven  chief  officers  wore  in  their  nostrils.  All  were  naked,  and 
the  people  weje  painted  red,  while  the  cacique  was  painted 
black.  As  the  squadron  proceeded  they  visited  a  place  fruitful 
in  spontaneous  products,  and  to  which  Columbus  gave  the  name 
of  Port  of  Provisions.  The  natives  were  so  much  afraid  of  the 
strange  visitors  that,  when  some  of  them  in  a  canoe  were  pur 
sued  by  a  boat  from  the  ship,  they  sprang  into  the  water  and 
made  good  their  escape,  swimming  when  necessary  under  water. 
On  November  23d  the  admiral,  deceived  as  to  its  safety  by  the 
sailors,  who  were  anxious  to  land  and  trade  with  the  natives, 
entered  another  small  harbor,  which  proved  dangerous,  and  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  El  Retrete,  the  Closet.  Here  the 


ON  COLUMBUS.  491 

inhabitants  were  tall,  slender,  well  formed  and  handsome  in  face 
and  movement,  and  were  friendly  and  hospitable.  The  shores 
abounded  in  alligators,  and  so  numerous  as  to  infect  the  air  with 
a  musky  odor.  The  Indians  freely  exchanged  their  provisions 
for  European  trifles,  but  their  friendly  intercourse  was  inter 
rupted  by  the  avarice  and  licentiousness  of  the  sailors,  who  found 
it  easy  to  escape  from  the  ships  at  night  and  visit  the  villages  on 
shore,  outraging  the  natives,  and  bringing  on  nightly  brawls 
and  bloody  fights,  and  finally  causing  the  Indians  to  assemble 
in  numbers  to  take  revenge  and  drive  the  intruders  from  their 
country.  A  shot  from  the  guns  loaded  with  a  blank  cartridge 
failed  to  produce  more  than  a  temporary  fright.  The  vices  of 
the  Spaniards  had  proved  them,  to  the  Indians,  to  be  even  less 
than  human  in  their  morals  ;  surely  they  could  not  be  invulner 
able.  When  the  Indians  renewed  with  increased  rage  their  prep 
arations  for  attack,  a  cannon-ball,  which  struck  on  a  little  cliff  in 
the  midst  of  a  group  of  them,  put  them  all  to  flight.  Unfavor 
able  winds  and  long  confinement  in  El  Retrete,  the  belief  that  the 
Indians  were  using  sorcery  to  influence  the  weather  against 
them,  and  the  miserable  condition  of  the  ships,  were  unanswer 
able  arguments  against  remaining  here  longer.  The  result  finally 
arrived  at  by  Columbus,  though  with  great  reluctance,  was  that 
the  strait  which  he  had  so  studiously  conjectured  and  meditated 
upon  in  the  halls  of  the  Alhambra,  and  had  now  so  earnestly  and 
persistently  sought,  must  be  either  much  farther  to  the  south 
and  through  the  great  continent  he  had  previously  discovered, 
or  not  in  existence.  However,  he  found  it  impossible  to  follow 
up  the  exploration  at  this  time,  and  leaving  it  for  a  future  effort, 
he  announced  to  the  glad  sailors  his  intention  of  returning  to 
seek  out  the  rich  mines  of  Veragua,  of  which  he  had  heard  so 
much. 

The  observant  mind  of  Columbus  had  been  guided  by  the 
peculiar  configuration  of  the  lands  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
interoceanic  passage  must  here  be  found  ;  for  here  Nature 
seemed  to  have  struggled  to  open  for  herself  a  passage,  and  for 
the  severance  of  the  two  great  American  continents.  It  is  re 
markable  that  here,  too,  in  our  times  man,  induced  by  the  neces 
sities  of  commerce,  the  formation  of  the  continents,  and  the  nar 
rowness  of  the  land  dividing  the  oceans,  has  selected  this  very 
place  for  accomplishing  by  human  labor  and  science  the  very 


492  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

thing  which  nature  seems  to  have  attempted,  but  desisted  from 
accomplishing.  They  were  then  on  the  coast  of  Chagres,  near 
Panama  ;  and  here  it  is  that  an  artificial  passage,  the  Panama 
Canal,  will  accomplish  the  union  of  the  oceans.  Mr.  Irving 
says  :  ' '  Here,  then,  ended  the  lofty  anticipations  which  had 
elevated  Columbus  above  all  mercenary  interests  ;  which  had 
made  him  regardless  of  hardships  and  perils,  and  given  an  heroic 
character  to  the  early  part  of  this  voyage.  It  is  true,  he  had 
been  in  pursuit  of  a  mere  chimera,  but  it  was  the  chimera  of  a 
splendid  imagination  and  a  penetrating  judgment.  If  he  was 
disappointed  in  his  expectation  of  finding  a  strait  through  the 
Isthmus  of  Darien,  it  was  because  Nature  herself  had  been  dis 
appointed,  for  she  appears  to  have  attempted  to  make  one,  but 
to  have  attempted  it  in  vain."  Tarducci  also  writes  :  "  In  our 
days,  just  where  Columbus  looked  for  his  strait,  human  genius 
and  activity  are  repairing  nature's  fault,  and  opening  the  pas 
sage  between  the  two  oceans  which  Columbus  had  judged  must 
exist."  And  the  Count  de  Lorgues  writes  :  "  He  searched  for 
it  [the  passage]  wherever  a  particular  configuration  seems  to 
have  prepared  for  the  severance  of  the  two  great  parts  of  the 
American  Continent.  One  would  say  that  Nature  was  suddenly 
arrested  in  her  work  by  the  Most  High,  who,  no  doubt,  reserves 
for  the  genius  of  man  the  opening  of  this  grand  passage.  Colum 
bus  came  to  designate  its  locality."  * 

For  three  months  Columbus  had  encountered  almost  constant 
storms,  and  those  of  the  greatest  violence.  His  crews  were  ex 
hausted.  While  sailing  southwest,  Columbus  had  anxiously  de 
sired  a  wind  from  the  west ;  now  when  he  was  sailing  west  he 
encountered  powerful  winds  from  the  west,  driving  him  to  the 
east ;  and  unable  to  reach  Veragua,  he  was  compelled  to  return 
to  Puerto  Bello  ;  and  here  the  storm  grew  fiercest.  Columbus 
himself  describes  it  in  his  letter  from  Jamaica  :  "  Never  was  the 
sea  so  high,  so  frightful,  so  foamy.  The  wind  did  not  permit 
me  to  advance,  but  held  me  in  that  sea,  which  seemed  all  blood, 
and  boiled  like  a  caldron  over  a  hot  fire  ;  never  was  the  aspect 
of  the  sky  seen  so  fearful,  burning  like  a  fiery  furnace  day  and 


*  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "Columbus."  vol.  ii.,  pp.  241-54; 
Irving's  "Columbu^,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  328-38;  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  Count  de 
Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  p.  463. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  493 

night,  and  thundering  so  that  I  looked  every  instant  to  see  if  my 
masts  were  still  standing.  The  lightning  was  so  dreadful  that 
every  one  believed  the  vessels  would  be  destroyed.  During  all 
this  time  the  water  never  ceased  to  pour  from  the  heavens  ;  nor 
could  it  be  said  to  rain,  for  it  was  rather  another  deluge.  The 
crews  were  reduced  to  such  a  state  that  they  wished  for  death 
to  free  them  from  such  misery." 

The  violence  of  the  storm  seemed  to  culminate  in  its  greatest 
violence  on  December  I3th,  and  such  was  the  fright  which  pre 
vailed  among  all  on  board,  that  the  sudden  and  short  peals  of 
thunder  sounded,  to  the  crews  of  each  ship,  like  signals  of  dis 
tress  from  the  other  imperilled  ships.  Then,  too,  the  ocean 
became  strangely  agitated,  while  the  water  rose  suddenly 
and  vertically  in  the  air,  drawing  in  the  foaming  waves,  and 
rising  cone-shaped  to  the  clouds  ;  and  at  the  same  moment  the 
livid  clouds  came  down  to  meet  the  rising  waters,  and  joining 
themselves  together,  and  whirling  and  advancing  with  great 
violence  and  noise,  approached  the  ships.  Columbus  had  for 
several  days  been  suffering  so  intensely  from  one  of  his  old 
attacks  of  illness  that  his  life  was  despaired  of  ;  and  the  pious 
Franciscan,  Father  Alexander,  had  already  yielded  up  his  own 
life  on  board  one  of  the  ships,  the  first  martyr-death  on  that 
western  ocean.  But  now  the  extreme  peril  aroused  the  admiral 
to  his  accustomed  energy,  and  he  arose  from  his  bed  to  cheer 
his  men  and  meet  the  emergency.  He,  and  his  sailors,  follow 
ing  his  example,  in  this  great  danger  resorted  to  Heaven,  since 
no  human  science  could  avail  them.  They  all  recited  passages 
from  the  Gospel  of  St.  John,  to  which  then,  as  now,  was  attrib 
uted  a  miraculous  efficacy,  and  the  admiral  made  the  sign  of 
the  cross  with  his  sword  and  drew  a  circle  as  if  to  cut  off  the 
approach  of  the  storm-monster.  Tarducci  says,  ''  The  effect  cor 
responded  to  his  faith  ;"  for  the  dreadful  waterspout,  seething 
and  hissing,  passed  between  the  ships,  tossing  them  about  most 
fearfully,  but  finally  subsiding  in  the  immensity  of  the  ocean 
with  frightful  noise.  To  the  astonishment  of  all,  and  to  the  de 
light  of  the  grateful  sailors,  the  ships  were  safe.  The  resort  to 
the  Gospel  of  St.  John  is  now  a  well-known  custom  in  time  of 
peril,  both  at  sea  and  on  land  ;  but  Tarducci  says  it  is  uncertain 
whether  Columbus  followed  a  then  prevailing  devotion  or  was 
the  first  to  commence  it,  which  from  his  remarkable  example  and 


494  OU1*   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

from  its  accorded  efficacy  has  since  become  traditional  and  gen 
eral.  On  the  following  night  the  Vizcaina,  one  of  the  caravels,  was 
missing,  but  on  the  third  day  it  rejoined  the  other  ships,  having 
only  sustained  the  loss  of  her  small  boat  and  an  anchor.  The  crews 
were  now  exhausted  and  prostrated.  A  strange  sight  presented 
itself  to  their  view  :  the  ships  were  surrounded  by  sharks,  which 
were  believed  by  the  sailors  to  possess  an  instinctive  anticipation 
of  shipwreck  and  a  scent  of  human  victims  for  their  rapacious 
appetites  and  to  surround  and  pursue  with  voraciousness  a  ship  in 
danger,  and  be  ready  for  the  coming  feast.  But,  as  it  resulted, 
some  of  the  sharks  were  themselves  captured,  and  the  keen 
hunger  of  the  sailors  found  in  their  usually  unsavory  flesh  an 
acceptable  repast.  The  provisions  of  fish  and  flesh  on  the  ships 
had  become  exhausted,  and  the  biscuit  had  become  so  ruined  by 
moisture  and  heat  that  it  was  swarming  with  worms.  Fernando 
Columbus  thus  describes  the  sailors  eating  their  biscuit-rations  : 

So  help  me  God,  as  I  saw  many  of  them  wait  till  night  to  con 
sume  their  rations,  so  as  not  to  see  the  worms  they  were  eating  ; 
others  got  so  accustomed  to  them,  that  they  would  not  cast 
them  off  when  they  did  see  them,  because  they  would  reduce  the 
ration  too  much."*  It  is  not  at  all  surprising,  then,  that  from 
such  rations  as  these  the  sailors  did  full  honor  to  the  feast  on 
the  shark's  flesh,  though  there  was  a  sailors'  superstition  against 
eating  it.  In  the  stomach  of  one  of  the  sharks  was  found  a  live 
tortoise,  which  afterward  became  a  pet  with  the  sailors  on  the 
ship  ;  and  in  that  of  another  was  found  the  entire  head  of  one  of 
his  companions,  which  had  lately  been  cut  off  and  thrown  into 
the  sea.  It  is  difficult  to  tell  whether  the  appetite  of  the  sharks 
or  that  of  the  sailors  was  most  voracious. 

On  December  i/th  the  vessels  entered  the  harbor  of  Puerto 
Bello.  The  Spaniards  visited  the  village  of  Huiva,  and  rested 
there  three  days.  The  houses  of  the  natives  were  built  in  the 
trees,  like  the  nests  of  birds,  and  poles  were  stretched  for  this 
purpose  from  tree  to  tree  to  support  the  houses.  Whether  this 
was  resorted  to  as  a  protection  from  wild  beasts  or  their  no  less 
savage  and  murderous  human  neighbors  could  not  be  ascer 
tained.  In  their  state  of  nature,  and  on  this  coast,  man  and  beast 
were  equally  ferocious,  and  man  was  constantly  at  war  with 


*  "  Historia  del  Almirante,"  cap.  xciv. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  495 

man.  Owing  to  repeated  storms  and  adverse  winds,  the  fleet 
was  nearly  thirty  days  in  reaching  Veragua  from  Puerto  Bello, 
a  distance  of  thirty  leagues.  As  they  arrived  at  Veragua  on  the 
Epiphany,  and  celebrated  the  visit  of  the  wise  men  from  the 
East  visiting  the  Infant  Saviour  at  Bethlehem,  the  admiral  named 
the  river  Belen,  the  Spanish  name  for  Bethlehem.  The  coast 
which  he  had  passed  with  so  much  difficulty  and  suffering  was 
named  the  Coast  of  Oppositions. 

On  the  river  Belen,  as  well  as  on  the  river  Veragua,  the  inhabit 
ants,  though  at  first  hostile  and  belligerent,  were  addressed  in 
their  own  language  by  the  Indian  guide  on  the  ships,  and  were 
easily  pacified  with  presents,  and  soon  entered  into  trade  with 
the  Spaniards.  Columbus  ordered  both  rivers  to  be  sounded. 
The  natives  of  both  places  confirmed  the  accounts  already  re 
ceived  as  to  the  abundance  and  richness  of  the  gold-mines  of 
Veragua.  The  Veraguans  informed  the  admiral  that  these 
mines  of  gold  lay  in  the  distant  mountains.  It  would  seem  that 
the  Indians  attributed  something  of  a  sacred  character  to  the 
precious  metal,  for  they  informed  the  admiral  that  they  observed 
strict  continence  and  fasted  twenty  days  before  going  to  the 
mountains  for  gold.  He  made  an  earnest  appeal  to  his  own  fol 
lowers,  as  they  were  Christians  and  trained  to  render  to  God 
prayers  and  works  of  self-denial  in  gratitude  for  the  gifts  they 
received  from  Heaven,  that  they  would  prove  themselves  not 
inferior  to  the  heathen  natives,  who,  without  a  vestige  of  relig 
ious  training,  were  accustomed  to  purify  themselves  by  conti 
nence  and  fasting  for  receiving  the  gifts  which  God  had  be 
stowed  upon  their  country.  It  was,  however,  in  vain  that 
Columbus  exhorted  the  demoralized  Spanish  sailors  and  men  to 
prepare  themselves  for  the  search  for  gold,  according  to  Chris 
tian  methods,  by  continence,  fasting,  and  confession.  Their 
avarice  and  their  lusts  found  ready  answers  and  excuses  for  de 
clining  his  wholesome  advice.  For  a  few  European  trifles  the 
Spaniards  had  already  obtained  in  exchange  twenty  plates  of 
gold,  with  a  number  of  pipes  of  gold  and  crude  pieces  of  ore. 
These  treasures  added  stimulus  to  the  already  inflamed  avarice 
of  the  Spaniards.  Human  passions  seem  ever  ready  in  these 
early  advances  of  Europeans  in  America  to  degrade  Christians 
below  the  standard  of  their  faith,  and  to  give  them  no  advantage 
in  contrast  with  the  pagans  in  their  conduct.  The  impression 


496  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

that  they  came  from  Heaven  was  soon  rudely  dispelled,  and  the 
Indians  learned  from  European  vices,  of  which  they  had  been 
ignorant,  lessons  of  depravity  and  degradation. 

Columbus  entered  the  Belen  River  with  his  ships  as  a  secure 
place  of  anchor,  though  he  would  have  preferred  the  Veragua 
River  had  it  been  of  sufficient  depth  of  water,  as  it  communi 
cated  with  gold  regions  of  that  name.  The  natives  received 
their  visitors  with  apparent  joy,  and  brought  every  kind  of  food 
in  which  the  country  abounded.  They  also  brought  various 
ornaments  of  gold,  which  they  said  came  from  Veragua,  and 
which  they  observed  were  more  coveted  by  the  Spaniards  than 
even  food  itself.  They  gladly  accepted  European  trifles  in  ex 
change.  Every  account  confirmed  the  reports  of  the  golden 
treasures  at  Veragua.  The  Adelantado  accordingly  ascended 
the  river  Veragua  in  the  boats,  which  were  well  manned  and 
armed,  visited  the  Quibian,  the  principal  cacique,  at  his  residence, 
about  a  league  and  a  half  off,  was  met  by  him  on  the  way  in  his 
canoes,  and  attended  by  many  of  his  subjects.  This  friendly 
interview  was  followed  by  a  visit  of  the  cacique  to  the  admiral 
and  the  fleet,  where  he  was  entertained  with  regal  hospitality. 
On  both  occasions  the  cacique  was  apparently  well  pleased  to 
part  with  his  jewels  of  gold  for  trifling  returns.  He  was  a  fine 
specimen  of  Indian  manhood  and  beauty,  tall  and  powerful  in 
frame,  warlike  in  demeanor,  taciturn  and  cautious  in  his  inter 
course.  Though  his  visit  to  the  admiral  was  outwardly  cordial, 
it  was  significantly  short. 

While  Columbus  was  thus  securely  resting  with  his  ships  in 
the  river  Belen,  and  contrasting  its  quiet  waters  with  the  stormy 
ocean  without,  a  peril  suddenly  came  upon  the  fleet  from  within. 
The  waters  of  the  river  came  rushing  from  the  interior  in  a  great 
torrent — no  doubt  a  freshet  from  the  mountains,  caused  by  heavy 
rains,  and  the  ships  were  in  danger  of  immediate  wreck,  as  the 
storm  then  prevailing  at  sea  prevented  them  from  seeking  safety 
without.  Having  escaped  this  unexpected  peril  with  little  more 
damage  than  the  loss  of  the  mainmast  of  his  own  ship,  the  ad 
miral  and  his  crews  found  the  weather  too  boisterous  for  moving 
about  until  February  6th,  when  the  waters  became  calmer.  The 
Adelantado  then  proceeded  with  sixty-eight  men  in  the  boats  to 
explore  the  Veragua  River,  was  received  by  the  Quibian  at  his 
village  with  great  courtesy,  and  was  furnished  by  the  chief  with 


ON   COLUMBUS.  497 

three  guides  for  visiting  the  mines,  to  which  visit  and  expedition 
he  gave  his  consent:  The  cacique  was  cautious  and  prudent, 
and  when  he  saw  his  inability  to  resist  openly  these  powerful 
intruders,  he  concealed  his  hostility  as  well  as  he  could  in  his 
own  breast.  On  arriving  at  the  region  to  which  the  Indian 
guides  had  conducted  him,  the  Adelantado  was  struck  with 
admiration  at  the  beauty  and  grandeur  of  the  country.  Gold 
abounded  everywhere,  and  from  the  surface  the  Spaniards  easily 
gathered  considerable  quantities  of  gold  in  two  hours.  While 
the  soil  was  spangled  with  gold,  the  precious  particles  were  im 
bedded  in  the  roots  of  the  trees.  On  ascending  a  high  hill  a 
country  of  great  extent  and  magnificence  burst  upon  his  view. 
Boundless  forests  spread  out  before  him  ;  the  trees  were  of  the 
largest  size  ;  and  the  whole  region  was  declared  by  the  guides 
to  abound  in  gold.  Returning  to  the  Belen,  the  Adelantado 
gave  the  admiral  a  glowing  account  of  the  country  he  had  visited, 
and  of  its  unbounded  riches.  It  came  to  light,  however,  that 
the  guides,  under  secret  instructions  from  the  wily  cacique,  had 
carried  the  Spaniards  to  the  dominions  of  his  enemy,  a  neighbor 
ing  chief,  with  whom  he  was  at  war,  and  that  the  mines  of  Ve- 
ragua  were  much  nearer  and  richer. 

The  Adelantado  was  not  discouraged,  but  on  February  i6th 
he  went  forth  on  another  exploring  expedition  along  the  west 
ward  coast,  accompanied  by  fifty-nine  armed  men,  while  a  boat 
with  fourteen  men  followed  them  along  the  shore.  This  new 
region  was  equally  rich  in  gold,  and  abounded  in  cultivated 
maize  and  delicious  fruits.  The  natives  wore  around  their  necks 
great  plates  of  gold.  The  Indians  parted  readily  with  their 
golden  treasures,  and  from  them  he  heard  the  most  glowing 
accounts  of  a  great  and  opulent  nation  in  the  interior,  whose 
inhabitants,  unlike  the  naked  Quibian  and  his  people,  wore 
clothes,  were  armed  like  the  Spaniards,  and  were  far  advanced 
in  civilization.  On  hearing  these  inspiring  accounts  the  ad 
miral  congratulated  himself  on  his  near  approach  to  the  opu 
lent  regions  of  Asia  ;  the  mines  of  Veragua  must  be  the  same 
with  those  exhaustless  gold  deposits  of  the  Aurea  Chersone- 
sus,  from  which  Sojomon  drew  the  gold  for  ornamenting  the 
great  temple  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  Ganges  could  not  be  be 
yond  his  reach.  Such  were  the  conclusions  which  so  good  a 
geographer  and  cosmographer  drew  from  the  dim  allusions  of 


498  OLD  AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

the  Indians  of  Veragua  to  what  must  have  been  the  Peruvian 
Empire. 

From  the  explorations  of  the  country  by  the  Adelantado,  the 
admiral  was  convinced  that  the  river  Belen  afforded  the  best 
port  for  ships,  and  that  Veragua  was  the  richest  in  gold  of  all 
the  districts  within  his  reach.  The  admiral's  disappointment  at 
not  discovering  the  interoceanic  passage  had  preyed  severely 
upon  his  sanguine  mind,  and  had  contributed  much  toward  the 
aggravation  of  the  disease  which  for  nine  days  had  brought  him 
to  the  verge  of  death.  But  now  the  discovery  of  a  rich  gold- 
bearing  country,  from  whose  inexhaustible  treasures  the  ex 
chequer  of  Spain  would  be  replenished,  his  own  fortunes  re 
stored,  the  Holy  Sepulchre  wrested  from  the  Moslem  thraldom, 
and  by  the  discovery  of  which  his  own  fame  would  be  vindicated 
before  the  world  and  posterity — these  fortunate  circumstances 
elevated  his  hopes  and  spirits  to  the  highest  point  of  his  enthusi 
astic  nature.  "  But  there  is  one  thing,"  he  wrote  from  Jamaica, 
"  I  venture  to  report,  for  there  were  many  eye-witnesses,  and 
that  is,  that  more  traces  of  gold  were  seen  in  two  days  in  Ve 
ragua  than  in  the  whole  four  years  in  Hispaniola  ;  and  that  more 
fertile  or  better  cultivated  lands  than  those  around  it  could  not 
be  desired.  .  .  .  At  a  single  time  there  was  brought  to  Solo 
mon  six  hundred  and  sixty-six  quintals  of  gold,  besides  what  he 
had  of  the  merchants  and  seamen,  and  not  counting  what  was 
paid  in  Arabia.  Of  this  gold  were  made  two  hundred  lances  and 
three  hundred  shields  ;  the  roof  [of  the  temple]  was  decorated 
with  this  metal,  and  enamelled  with  precious  stones  ;  and  many 
other  things  were  made  of  it,  and  numerous  large  vases  were 
spread  over  with  precious  stones.  Josephus  speaks  of  it  in  his 
chronicles  de  antiquitatibus.  It  is  also  spoken  of  in  Paralipomenon 
and  the  Book  of  Kings.  Josephus  is  of  opinion  that  the  gold 
came  from  the  Aurea  ;  and  if  so,  I  maintain  that  the  mines  of 
the  Aurea  are  absolutely  identical  with  those  of  Veragua,  which, 
as  I  have  already  stated,  extend  westward  more  than  twenty 
days'  journey,  equally  distant  from  the  pole  and  the  line.  All 
those  things — gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones — were  bought  by 
Solomon  ;  but  here  in  this  place  all  that  is  necessary,  if  gold  is 
wanted,  is  to  send  to  gather  it.  David  in  his  testament  left 
Solomon  three  thousand  quintals  of  gold  from  the  Indies  to  aid 
in  building  the  temple  ;  and,  according  to  Josephus,  it  came 


ON   COLUMBUS.  499 

from  these  same  lands.  Jerusalem  and  the  Mount  of  Zion  must 
be  restored  by  the  hands  of  a  Christian,  and  God,  by  the  mouth 
of  the  prophet,  has  said  so  in  the  fourteenth  psalm.  Abbot 
Joachim  asserts  that  this  Christian  must  corne  from  Spain.  St. 
Jerome  pointed  out  to  the  Holy  Spouse  [the  Church]  the  way  to 
succeed.  The  Emperor  of  Cathay  asked  long  ago  for  learned 
men  to  instruct  him  in  the  faith  of  Christ.  Who  will  present 
himself  for  this  mission  ?  If  our  Lord  grants  me  to  return  to 
Spain,  I  bind  myself,  in  God's  name,  to  carry  him  thither  safe 
and  sound."  * 

The  admiral  decided  to  found  a  colony  on  the  Belen  River, 
which  should  be  the  great  mart  for  the  wealth  of  the  country  ; 
this  extensive  realm  should  be  taken  possession  of  in  the  names 
of  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  and  the  mines  of  Veragua  should  be 
vigorously  worked.  The  Adelantado  was  to  remain  in  command 
of  the  colony  with  eighty  men,  and  these  were  divided  into  sec 
tions  of  ten  men  each,  and  these  began  with  alacrity  and  good 
will  to  build  the  dwellings  and  a  large  storehouse,  which  were 
built  of  wood  and  palm-leaf  thatched.  While  a  considerable 
part  of  the  provisions  and  artillery  was  placed  in  the  warehouse, 
the  principal  part  was  left  on  board  the  Gallego  for  the  use  of 
the  colony.  The  food  provisions  were  chiefly  left  on  the  other 
ships  of  the  squadron,  as  the  soil  was  rich  and  yielded  abundant 
crops,  while  the  river  and  sea  abounded  in  fish.  The  fishing  tackle 
consequently  was  left  on  the  Gallego.  The  native  beverages  of 
the  country,  extracted  from  the  pineapple,  palm-trees,  and  other 
fruits  would  afford  pleasant  drink  even  for  Europeans.  The 
admiral  with  the  other  ships  and  crews  was  to  return  to  Spain, 
and  he  expected  soon  to  return  with  an  abundant  supply  of  men 
and  provisions  to  give  the  assurance  of  permanency  to  the 
colony.  He  took  great  pains,  as  well  he  knew  how,  to  conciliate 
the  good  will  of  the  natives,  and  to  reconcile  them  to  the  intru 
sion  of  strangers  into  their  country.  And  now  that  the  houses 
were  sufficiently  advanced  to  afford  shelter  for  the  colonists,  the 
admiral  prepared  to  leave,  while  the  brave  and  resolute  Adelan 
tado  calmly  assumed  the  care  and  leadership  of  this,  the  second 
hopeful  yet  dangerous  experiment  of  European  colonization  in 


*  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  264- 
66. 


500  OLD  AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

America  ;  but  now  the  ship,  owing  to  the  dry  weather  and  low 
tide,  could  not  pass  out  of  the  river,  while  the  ocean  lashed  the 
shores  most  violently  without. 

The  cacique  of  Veragua,  who  had  nursed  his  resentment  at  the 
intrusion  of  the  white  men  into  his  country,  and  now  saw  their 
preparations  for  a  permanent  settlement,  prepared,  as  he  trusted, 
to  annihilate  the  strangers  at  one  blow.  While  he  was  thus 
assembling  his  forces  from  all  parts  on  the  Veragua  River  for 
this  fierce  and  resolute  attack,  it  was  given  out  that  he  was  pre 
paring  for  war  with  a  neighboring  tribe.  It  was  fortunate  that 
these  measures  of  the  proud  and  jealous  chief  were  developed 
before  the  departure  of  the  admiral  and  the  ships.  It  was  the 
faithful  and  intrepid  Diego  Mendez  that  penetrated  the  designs 
of  the  Quibian.  He  offered  the  admiral  his  services  to  discover 
the  true  state  of  things.  He  was  peculiarly  fitted  for  so  bold 
and  perilous  a  service.  Proceeding  in  his  boat  with  a  few  armed 
men  along  the  coast  to  the  Veragua  River,  he  soon  saw  a  thou 
sand  armed  and  provisioned  Indians  marching  toward  the  Belen. 
He  boldly  sprang  ashore  and  mingled  with  the  native  army,  and 
when  they  said  they  were  marching  against  the  Cobrava  Auriva 
Indians,  he  offered  to  go  with  them  with  his  boat  and  men  and 
fight  on  their  side.  He  saw,  from  his  services  being  declined, 
from  their  evident  embarrassment  of  manner  and  looks,  and  their 
manifest  desire  to  get  rid  of  him,  that  they  were  treacherously 
marching  on  the  Spanish  colony.  So,  too,  when  the  Indians 
saw  him  return  to  his  boat  and  watch  their  movements,  they 
returned  the  same  night  to  Veragua.  When  Mendez  returned 
and  reported  to  the  admiral  his  conviction  that  the  warlike 
movement  was  directed  against  the  Belen  colony,  and  when  the 
admiral  hesitated  to  strike  a  blow  against  the  conspiring  natives 
for  fear  of  doing  them  an  injustice,  Mendez,  with  characteristic 
intrepidity,  offered  to  penetrate  the  Indian  camp  and  visit  the 
Quibian  at  his  residence.  As  he  proceeded  to  this  perilous  mis 
sion  he  received  unerring  confirmation  of  his  suspicions,  and  yet 
he  pushed  on.  Having  with  consummate  strategy  penetrated 
to  the  very  residence  of  the  cacique,  and  by  his  ingenuity  and 
address  escaped  an  almost  certain  death,  he  returned  and  re 
ported  to  the  admiral  the  plan  of  the  Indians  to  march  under 
cover  of  the  night  upon  the  Belen  colony,  and  by  fire  and  weapon 
destroy  the  settlement,  the  ships,  and  all  the  Spaniards  at  a  blow. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  50 1 

The  bold  and  desperate  resolve  was  now  made  of  gaining  the 
presence  of  the  cacique  by  stratagem,  arresting  him  there  by 
main  force,  and  bringing  him  to  the  ships  for  immediate  trans 
portation  as  a  prisoner  to  Spain.  This  accomplished,  the  con 
quest  of  Veragua  and  its  inhabitants  would  prove  an  easy  task. 
The  Adelantado,  accompanied  by  eighty  armed  men,  among 
whom  was  the  intrepid  and  wily  Mendez,  undertook  this  peril 
ous  duty,  and  under  circumstances  as  remarkable  and  astonishing 
as  they  were  romantic.  Those  brave  and  deliberate  soldiers, 
the  Adelantado  and  Mendez,  accomplished  their  difficult  mission. 
The  Adelantado  with  consummate  strategy  reached  the  royal 
presence,  captured  the  Quibian  with  his  own  stout  hands,  and 
though  he  thus  encountered  a  desperate  and  powerful  athletic 
and  brave  foe,  he  conquered  him  by  personal  strength  and  agil 
ity,  and  his  own  men  rushing  to  his  aid,  made  prisoners  of  the 
entire  household  of  the  chief — men,  women,  and  children — to  the 
number  of  fifty.  The  Spaniards,  in  the  heart  of  the  enemy's 
country,  were  in  peril  for  their  own  safety  ;  how  could  they  also 
secure  and  send  back  their  prisoners  through  the  infuriated 
bands  of  Indians,  the  chief  prisoner's  devoted  subjects  ?  Don 
Bartholomew  resolved  to  remain  at  Veragua  to  follow  up  his 
work,  and  Juan  Sanchez  earnestly  sought  the  perilous  honor  of 
carrying  the  cacique  and  delivering  him  to  the  admiral  on  board 
his  ship.  It  was  a  difficult  task  to  carry  so  powerful  a  prisoner 
to  Belen,  and  so  eager  was  Sanchez  to  be  selected  for  the  accom 
plishment  of  the  feat,  that  he  offered  to  have  his  beard  plucked 
out,  hair  by  hair,  if  the  Quibian  should  escape.  Proceeding  with 
the  royal  prisoner,  not  only  bound  hand  and  foot,  but  also  tied 
by  a  cable  to  the  boat's  bench,  the  party  had  reached  within  half 
a  mile  of  the  mouth  of  the  Veragua.  The  night  was  dark  ;  all 
danger  of  rescue  was  over.  So  tightly  was  the  prisoner  secured, 
that  he  complained  constantly  of  pain,  and  finally  Sanchez, 
moved  with  pity  for  the  cacique's  sufferings,  compassionately 
loosened  the  cable  from  the  bench  and  held  it  in  his  hand.  The 
prisoner  feigned  great  sufferings,  and  pretended  to  be  half  dead. 
His  eyes  were  never  taken  off  Sanchez  ;  suddenly,  when  the  latter 
was  looking  another  way,  the  wily  Indian  dropped  into  the 
water,  and  Sanchez  would  have  been  dragged  in  also  by  the 
cable  and  its  ponderous  burden  had  he  not  let  go  his  hold.  In 
the  darkness  of  the  night  and  confusion  of  the  scene  the  cacique 


502  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

escaped,  and  Sanchez,  "  cursing  himself  and  Heaven,"  returned 
to  the  fleet  with  his  other  prisoners,  but  overwhelmed  with 
chagrin  and  mortification  at  his  blunder  and  misfortune.  He 
had  been  outwitted  by  a  savage.  Don  Bartholomew  found  it 
impracticable  to  follow  up  the  war  with  adequate  results,  so  he 
returned  to  the  colony  with  an  immense  booty  captured  in  the 
cacique's  house,  such  as  large  plates  of  gold  and  ornaments  of 
every  kind,  amounting  in  value  to  three  hundred  ducats,  one 
thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty-one  dollars  of  our  money. 
The  royal  fifth  was  set  aside  from  the  plunder,  and  the  rest  was 
divided  among  the  brave  men  who  had  undertaken  the  enter 
prise.  Don  Bartholomew  received  as  a  trophy  of  his  gallantry 
and  success  one  of  the  golden  coronets.  It  was  the  compassion 
of  Sanchez  toward  his  prisoner  in  relaxing  his  bonds  that  stood 
between  the  admiral  and  the  conquest  of  some  of  the  richest  and 
most  important  portions  and  perhaps  empires  of  the  new  world. 
But  for  this  trifling  incident  Columbus  would  probably  have 
advanced  to  the  conquests  which  Cortez  and  Pizarro  so  brilliantly 
achieved  in  Mexico  and  Peru.  So  far-reaching  was  this  act  of 
clemency  in  its  effects,  that  the  destiny  of  future  empires  was 
affected  by  it,  the  public  history  of  Spain,  of  Europe,  and  of  the 
world  was  changed,  the  fortunes  of  Columbus  ruined,  and  per 
haps  the  possession  of  the  Holy  Land  lost  to  Christendom.  And 
yet  our  sympathies  must  go  out  to  the  act  of  clemency,  while 
the  cause  of  a  chief  seized  and  doomed  to  exile  and  humiliation 
for  defending  his  own  under  the  law  of  nature,  in  the  light  of 
true  justice,  seems  to  outweigh  the  highest  aspirations  and  results 
of  our  own  aggressive  civilization.  Retribution  soon  followed. 
Columbus  now  considered  profoundly  and  earnestly  what  next 
steps  were  to  be  taken  in  the  momentous  movement  of  European 
civilization  upon  the  domains  of  nature,  the  advance  of  Christianity 
into  the  realms  of  paganism,  in  which  he  was  the  pioneer.  It  was 
thought  probable  if  not  certain  that  the  Quibian  had  perished  in 
the  water,  for  how  could  it  be  otherwise  with  a  man  whose  hands 
and  feet  were  tied  ?  Without  their  powerful,  warlike,  and  popu 
lar  leader,  the  Veraguans  could  be  easily  conquered,  their  fertile 
country  seized,  and  the  inexhaustible  gold-mines  worked  with 
success.  Even  if  the  cacique  survived,  he  and  his  people  must 
have  been  terrified  by  the  boldness,  skill,  and  power  of  the 
Spaniards,  and  discouraged  by  the  capture  and  imprisonment  of 


ON  COLUMBUS.  503 

the  royal  family.  Surely  these  naked  savages  would  not  dare  to 
encounter  the  champions  of  civilization  and  of  the  crown  of 
Spain.  The  admiral  regarded  the  prospects  of  his  new  enter 
prise  as  most  favorable.  In  the  mean  time,  heavy  rains  had 
fallen  ;  the  ships  were  relieved  of  their  cargoes  and  towed, 
though  with  difficulty,  out  of  the  river,  and  when  the  cargoes 
were  reshipped  on  board,  as  was  soon  accomplished,  the  admiral 
was  ready  to  sail.  It  was  the  admiral's  intention  to  touch  at 
Hispaniola,  and  thence  send  provisions  and  reinforcements  to 
sustain  the  infant  colony,  planted  in  a  wilderness  and  surrounded 
by. enemies  smarting  under  their  wrongs.  It  only  needed  a 
favorable  wind  for  the  ships  to  sail. 

On  April  6th,  1503,  the  admiral's  boat  was  sent  ashore.  The 
sacrifice  of  its  passengers  proved  the  salvation  of  the  rest  of  the 
Spaniards.  The  Indian  cacique,  though  bound  hand  and  foot, 
was  so  accustomed  to  the  water,  that  he  glided  like  a  fish  to  the 
shore,  crawled  to  the  woods,  and  was  soon  once  more  at  the 
head  of  his  warriors,  all  vowing  the  utmost  vengeance  upon  their 
white  assailants.  The  chief  stealthily  reconnoitred  the  vessels, 
and  saw  his  wives  and  children  and  his  whole  family  carried  out 
of  the  river,  and  on  the  eve  of  being  carried  into  perpetual  exile. 
Every  natural  and  just  instinct  of  his  fierce  nature  was  aroused. 
As  chieftain,  as  husband,  as  father,  as  a  man,  he  saw  every  right 
of  his  outraged,  and  he  now  devoted  his  whole  existence  to  re 
venge,  for  the  intruders  had  not  all  departed  from  the  land  to 
the  ships.  He  assembled  his  warriors  secretly  to  the  number  of 
four  hundred.  The  colony  did  not,  besides  Don  Bartholomew 
and  Mendez,  exceed  seventy  Spaniards  on  shore.  The  Indian 
army  advanced,  under  cover  of  the  woods,  while  the  Spaniards, 
intent  on  the  immediate  preparations  for  the  departure  of  the 
ships,  and  lured  to  carelessness  by  the  confidence  they  felt  in  the 
effect  of  their  recent  exploit,  were  not  aware  of  the  deadly  ap 
proach.  The  Indians  reached  within  ten  steps  of  the  houses,  and, 
but  for  their  accustomed  Indian  war  cry,  which  they  thrice  re 
peated,  they  could  have  surrounded  every  house,  and  after 
slaughtering  its  occupants  have  fired  all.  The  terrific  yells  of 
the  Indians  brought  the  Adelantado  and  seven  or  eight  others  to 
the  defence,  while  Indian  arrows  penetrated  the  palm-leaf  roofs 
and  wounded  some  of  the  inmates.  The  Adelantado,  lance  in 
hand,  led  his  little  band,  and  they  fiercely  attacked  the  Indians 


504  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

as  they  emerged  from  the  woods.  Soon  the  intrepid  Mendez 
and  others  joined  him,  and  with  their  swords  the  well-armed  and 
shielded  Spaniards  made  dreadful  havoc  among  the  naked  war 
riors.  At  this  juncture  a  furious  dog,  possessed  by  the  Span 
iards,  rushed  out,  and,  by  leaping  and  seizing  the  Indians  in  the 
face,  rendered  greater  service  than  the  Spanish  swords.  The 
Indians  had  never  seen  such  an  animal,  and,  affrighted  by  such 
a  monster,  they  rushed  frantically  back  to  the  woods.  The  rest 
of  the  Spaniards  now  came  up  from  their  various  occupations  to 
the  aid  of  their  countrymen.  The  Indians  lost  all  hope,  and 
they  were  put  on  their  defence  by  the  intrepidity  of  the  Spanish, 
and  could  only  discharge  their  weapons  from  the  woods,  which 
resounded  with  their  yells.  Spanish  courage,  skill,  and  arms 
carried  the  day  against  the  savage  and  naked  warriors  of  Ve- 
ragua.  The  struggle  lasted  three  hours:  The  Indians  left  nine 
teen  of  their  warriors  dead  on  the  field,  while  they  carried  off 
large  numbers  of  their  wounded.  The  Spaniards  had  one  killed 
and  seven  wounded,  and  among  the  wounded  was  the  brave 
Adelantado,  who  received  a  lance- wound  in  his  breast. 

The  boat  from  the  admiral's  ship  entered  the  river  just  as  the 
fight  was  at  its  height.  It  was  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Diego  Tristan.  He  and  his  men  took  no  part  in  the  battle,  re 
maining  silent  spectators  of  the  startling  scene.  He  gave  as  his 
motive  in  not  going  to  the  relief  of  his  countrymen,  when  ques 
tioned  and  censured,  the  necessity  of  avoiding  and  preventing 
the  struggling  Spaniards,  on  seeing  a  boat  approaching,  from 
rushing  to  it  to  make  their  escape,  overloading  it,  and  thus  caus 
ing  the  death  of  all  by  drowning  ;  when,  if  left  to  their  own 
desperate  defence,  their  arms  and  valor  would  save  them.  And 
so  it  resulted.  But  Diego  and  his  comrades  on  the  admiral's 
boat  were  reserved  for  a  more  appalling  struggle  and  a  more 
consummate  fate.  He  had  been  sent  in  the  boat,  with  seven  or 
eight  rowers  and  three  armed  men,  to  obtain  fresh  water.  The 
Spaniards  on  shore  endeavored  to  persuade  him  to  desist  from 
going  up  the  river,  for  if  he  went  his  fate  seemed  desperate  ;  but 
he  answered  that  he  did  not  fear  the  Indians,  and  he  would  at 
all  risks  perform  the  duty  confided  to  him  by  the  admiral. 
Scarcely  had  the  boat  proceeded  a  league  from  the  settlement, 
when  it  was  set  upon  by  innumerable  Indian  canoes  filled  with 
infuriated  warriors,  yelling  as  they  came  out  from  the  wooded 


ON   COLUMBUS.  505 

shores,  and  the  boat  was  soon  surrounded.  The  Spaniards, 
though  few  in  number,  might  have  put  their  assailants  to  flight 
by  the  terror  of  their  fire-arms,  if  they  had  promptly  discharged 
them  ;  but  the  suddenness  of  the  attack  and  the  appalling  yells 
and  numbers  of  the  Indians  caused  them  to  lose  their  presence 
of  mind.  Their  Spanish  shields  were  no  protection  against  such 
swarms  of  assailants,  and  the  showers  of  arrows  at  every  side. 
It  was  in  vain  that  Diego  Tristan  endeavored  to  sustain  the 
courage  of  his  men  by  word  and  example.  He  was  repeatedly 
wounded,  and  finally  fell  dead  from  a  lance  which  penetrated  his 
eye.  The  rest  of  the  Spaniards  were  slaughtered  ;  every  Indian 
warrior  struggled  to  be  the  instrument  of  his  nation's  venge 
ance.  The  bodies  of  the  Spaniards  were  cut  to  pieces.  Only  one 
man  escaped,  Juan  de  Noya,  who  in  the  confusion  had  fallen 
overboard,  and  by  swimming  under  the  water  had  made  his 
escape  and  returned  to  the  settlement  to  announce  the  disaster. 

The  scene  at  the  village  can  scarcely  be  imagined,  much  less 
described.  The  Spanish  colonists,  though  successful  in  driving 
off  their  Indian  assailants,  were  appalled  at  the  ferocity  and  num 
bers  of  their  enemies.  Instead  of  being  humbled  or  frightened 
at  the  recent  exploit  of  the  Spaniards  in  seizing  their  chief  and 
his  family,  their  savage  passions  were  intensified  by  revenge  and 
hatred.  How  could  a  handful  of  men  in  a  wilderness,  thousands 
of  miles  away  from  home,  subsist  in  the  midst  of  countless  ene 
mies,  whose  country  they  had  invaded,  and  whom  they  had 
goaded  on  to  the  fiercest  consciousness  of  pride,  injury,  insult, 
and  defiance  ?  At  the  Belen  colony  all  were  in  the  most  intense 
state  of  excitement  and  dismay,  and  nothing  was  talked  of  but 
the  late  assault  of  the  Quibian  and  his  warriors.  It  was  in  the 
midst  of  such  tumult  and  consternation  that  Juan  de  Noya  sudden 
ly  arrived  in  their  midst  and  announced  the  appalling  massacre  of 
the  Spaniards  in  the  boat  under  Diego  Tristan.  Dismay  was 
turned  into  a  panic  of  the  most  frightful  character.  Terrific  as 
was  the  account  of  Noya,  the  frightened  colonists  exaggerated 
in  their  dismay  even  this  consummate  disaster.  A  handful  of 
men  amid  countless  enemies,  exasperated  with  hatred  and  re 
venge,  had  now  within  a  few  hours  twice  attacked  the  Spaniards. 
The  admiral,  ignorant  of  their  disasters,  was  about  to  sail  away  ; 
what  but  the  most  cruel  death  awaited  them  at  every  step  ? 
There  was  one  simultaneous  abandonment  of  the  settlement, 


506  OLD  AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

and  the  panic-stricken  crowd  rushed  to  the  Gallego  for  safety 
from  their  enemies,  and  in  the  hope  of  putting  out  to  sea.  It 
was  in  vain  that  the  clear  voice  and  commanding  coolness  of 
the  Adelantado  endeavored  to  preserve  order  or  calm  the  ex 
citement.  To  their  consternation,  the  men  saw  that  it  was  im 
possible  for  the  caravel  to  overcome  the  ever-increasing  sand 
bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  such  was  the  violence  of  the 
sea  without,  that  it  was  impossible  to  send  out  a  boat  with  men 
to  communicate  their  condition  to  the  admiral.  At  this  terrible 
moment  a  spectacle  presented  itself  to  their  eyes  which  deprived 
them  of  every  remnant  of  sense  or  thought  :  the  bodies  of  Diego 
Tristan  and  his  companions  came  floating  past,  and  upon  the 
mutilated  masses  of  flesh  and  bones  were  crowded  the  birds  of 
prey,  fighting  over  the  quivering  limbs  of  the  slain  and  piercing 
the  air  with  their  hideous  cries,  until  there  was  little  left  on  the 
water  but  floating  clusters  of  bones  from  which  the  flesh  was 
nearly  all  picked  by  the  vultures. 

At  this  pitiable  moment  the  infuriated  Indians,  rejoicing  at 
their  triumph  over  the  Spaniards  in  the  boat,  having  practically 
shown  their  intruders  to  be  mortal  and  vulnerable,  and  gloated 
with  Spanish  blood  so  recently  shed  by  them,  burst  forth  from 
the  woods  suddenly  with  yells,  and  the  sounds  of  shells  and 
drums  gave  notice  of  hundreds  more  approaching.  The  Span 
iards  desperately  rushed  and  brought  together  all  the  tables, 
chests,  casks,  and  other  articles  they  could  find,  and  with  these 
they  hastily  formed  a  bulwark,  in  the  centre  of  which  they 
huddled  together  with  their  arms,  and  at  the  two  openings  were 
stationed  falconets.  When  the  Indians  rushed  upon  the  little 
fort  so  suddenly  constructed,  the  discharge  of  the  two  falconets 
struck  terror  in  the  assailants,  and  these,  panic-stricken  at  the 
balls  and  the  havoc  they  made,  rushed  back  to  the  woods.  Here 
they  swarmed,  and  watched  for  the  opportunity  of  killing  the 
Spaniards  if  any  should  venture  out  for  food  or  water.  The 
continued  discharges  from  the  falconets,  cutting  the  trees  with 
the  balls  or  wounding  some  of  their  number,  still  kept  the  Indians 
in  check. 

The  scene  on  board  the  admiral's  ship  was  only  different  in 
degree.  For  ten  days  all  on  board  had  anxiously  awaited  the 
return  of  Diego  Tristan,  and  each  day's  disappointment  dis 
mayed  the  admiral  and  his  men  beyond  endurance.  No  means 


ON   COLUMBUS.  507 

existed  of  communicating  with  the  shore.  At  the  end  of  this 
time,  when  all  seemed  to  despair,  an  appalling  event  occurred 
on  the  ship  Santiago,  which  made  it  seem  that  all  the  powers  of 
evil  were  leagued  against  them. 

The  Indian  prisoners  on  board  the  ship,  the  family  of  the  Ve- 
raguan  chief  Quibian,  who  were  held  as  hostages  for  the  safety 
of  the  colony  on  shore,  were  every  night  shut  up  securely  below 
the  deck.  The  hatch  was  too  high  to  reach  with  their  hands 
from  below,  and  as  the  sailors  were  sleeping  upon  it,  the  guards 
deemed  it  unnecessary  to  chain  it  down  on  the  outside  for 
security.  The  prisoners  saw  their  opportunity  in  the  careless 
ness  of  the  men.  They  gathered  together  and  piled  under  the 
hatch  the  stones  used  for  ballast,  and  mounting  upon  these,  the 
prisoners  by  one  united  effort  forced  the  hatch,  throwing  off  the 
sleeping  sailors  from  it  ;  then,  quickly  springing  on  deck,  they 
were  in  an  instant  in  the  water,  and  concealed  by  it,  were  making 
their  escape  to  the  shore.  An  immediate  alarm,  vigorously 
sounded  on  the  ship,  brought  pursuers  to  the  rescue,  and  resulted 
in  the  capture  of  most  of  the  fugitives.  The  prisoners  were  now 
secured  under  hatches  which  were  chained  down,  and  a  strong 
guard  placed  on  duty.  These  desperate  savages,  more  than 
ever  aggrieved  at  not  escaping  with  their  more  fortunate  com 
panions,  and  goaded  on  to  despair,  all  resolved  to  die  together. 
The  men  and  women  collected  the  cords  in  the  hold  ;  all 
united  in  the  sad  tragedy,  and  strangled  themselves.  So  intent 
were  they  in  their  desperate  resolve,  that  while  some  stretched 
their  feet  and  knees  out  on  the  bottom,  because  there  was  not 
space  or  height  enough  for  them  to  hang,  others  with  their  own 
hands  and  feet  drew  and  tightened  the  cords  around  their  necks 
in  order  to  ensure  their  own  deaths  rather  than  survive  in  exile, 
separation,  and  slavery.  Columbus  and  his  companions  were 
appalled  at  such  a  revolting  spectacle.  Were  such  to  be  the 
fruits  of  his  great  discovery  ?  Were  such  the  early  products  of 
Christian  civilization  when  brought  in  contact  with  pagan  bar- 
barism  ?  Were  not  the  hostages  he  had  held  for  the  safety  of  his 
own  countrymen  on  shore  either  all  dead  or  at  liberty,  by  their 
own  escape,  to  foment  hostility  against  the  Christians  among 
their  people  ?  What  days  of  anguish  on  board  the  ships  were 
those  ten  days  of  crushing  suspense,  during  which  no  tidings 
had  been  received  of  Diego  Tristan  and  his  companions,  or  of 


508  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

the  Adelantado  and  his  colonists  at  Belen  !  The  cruelly  treated 
cacique,  the  Quibian  of  Veragua,  no  longer  restrained  by  the 
fear  of  reprisals,  had  the  Spaniards  on  shore  at  his  mercy. 

The  intense  anxiety  of  the  admiral  and  all  on  board  the  ships 
led  several  sailors  to  offer  to  swim  ashore,  provided  the  boat 
was  sent  to  carry  them  to  the  edge  of  the  surf.  They  felt  am 
bitious  to  show  that  they  were  not  inferior  to  the  Indians,  whom 
they  had  seen  swim  defiantly  through  the  raging  waves  or  under 
them  the  distance  of  a  league,  encountering  deadly  perils  through 
natural  love  of  liberty.  Could  not  a  Spaniard  do  as  much  for 
the  safety  of  his  countrymen  ?  The  admiral  gladly  accepted  the 
generous  offer,  and  a  boat  load  of  sailors  were  rowed  to  the  edge 
of  the  billows  ;  but  the  courage  of  these  hardy  sailors  failed 
before  the  inevitable  death  that  awaited  their  attempt  to, swim  a 
league's  distance  through  mountains  of  furious  billows.  One 
man,  however,  performed  the  marvellous  and  perilous  under 
taking,  Pedro  Ledesma,  a  sailor  of  powerful  frame  and  sur 
passing  courage.  It  was  long  painfully  doubtful  whether  he  or 
the  waves  would  conquer.  Human  courage  and  strength  con 
quered.  Having  reached  the  shore,  the  Spanish  colonists,  fren 
zied  with  their  perils  and  sufferings,  pressed  around  him,  and 
with  agony  told  him  all  that  occurred,  and  with  hands  joined 
together  as  a  pledge  resolved  at  every  risk  to  fly  the  greater 
danger,  from  which  they  apprehended  death  at  any  moment. 
The  voice  of  the  Adelantado  and  his  officers  fell  powerless  on 
their  ears  ;  they  had  found  two  canoes,  and  had  a  boat  of  their 
own.  They  desperately  prepared  to  join  the  ships  as  soon  as  the 
violence  of  the  sea  permitted.  They  besought  Ledesma  to  pre 
sent  their  desperate  petition  to  the  admiral,  that  he  would  not  in 
his  charity  abandon  his  countrymen  and  companions  to  their  cer 
tain  fate  ;  that  they  would  not  and  could  not  remain,  as  death  was 
certain  ;  that  if  the  admiral  should  refuse  to  receive  them,  they 
would  call  on  Heaven  to  witness  his  cruelty  ;  that,  in  any  event, 
they  would  put  to  sea  in  their  own  unseaworthy  ship,  preferring 
the  perils  of  the  sea  to  the  certain  revenge  of  man.  The  brave 
Ledesma  ascertained  all,  and  after  receiving  the  instructions  of 
Don  Bartholomew,  resolutely  plunged  into  the  sea,  passed 
through  the  surging  billows  to  the  boat  in  waiting,  reached  the 
admiral's  ship,  and  imparted  to  his  chief,  with  hurried  and  con 
fused  words,  the  appalling  intelligence  of  all  he  had  seen  and  heard. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  509 

Columbus  was  bowed  down  to  the  earth  with  grief  at  such 
tidings.  No  man  ever  suffered  such  sorrows  as  he.  The  con 
viction  that  he  was  the  chosen  of  God  to  perform  the  great  mis 
sion  of  opening  the  way  to  the  conversion  of  all  heathen  nations 
to  the  Christian  faith  was  ever  present  and  uppermost  in  his 
mind,  and  yet  whenever  he  seemed  on  the  point  of  accomplish 
ment  he  was  cast  down,  and  seemed  to  himself  and  to  mankind 
the  most  unfortunate  and  abandoned  of  men.  It  was  truly  said 
that  "  in  all  the  trouble  and  distress  which  Columbus  had  under 
gone  in  his  four  voyages,  he  had  never  found  himself  in  so  des 
perate  a  situation  as  when  Ledesma  brought  his  news."  *  Could 
he  go  away  and  leave  his  countrymen  in  the  jaws  of  death  ?  Had 
those  whom  he  had  brought  from  home  no  claims  upon  his  jus 
tice,  his  sympathy,  or  his  charity  ?  Was  Don  Bartholomew,  the 
most  devoted  of  brothers,  to  be  abandoned  to  savages  seeking 
his  life  ?  How  could  he  ever  become  reconciled  to  the  death  of 
Diego  Tristan,  still  less  to  the  relinquishment  of  his  plan  for 
planting  a  colony  in  the  midst  of  unbounded  wealth  ?  Knowing 
that  it  was  impossible  to  send  reinforcements  to  the  colony,  as 
he  was  already  short  of  men  and  sailors ;  that  to  return  to 
Belen  himself  with  his  ships  and  men  would  endanger  all,  with 
out  the  world's  ever  knowing  of  his  great  discovery  of  the  con 
tinent  and  the  gold  of  Veragua,  and  with  no  means  of  obtaining 
succor  or  reinforcements  from  home,  he  could  see  no  course 
open  to  him,  direful  as  it  was,  than  to  abandon  the  settlement 
for  the  present,  to  receive  the  forlorn  hope  upon  his  ships,  and 
return  with  all  to  Spain.  In  the  midst  of  such  crushing  disasters 
his  sanguine  mind  still  clung  to  the  hope  of  again  returning  with 
a  numerous  colony  and  with  sufficient  ships,  soldiers,  and  outfits 
of  every  kind  to  found  anew  the  colony  in  Veragua,  maintain  it, 
reduce  to  subjection  to  the  Spanish  crown  the  warlike  people 
and  caciques  of  that  fertile  and  gold-bearing  region,  and  perhaps 
the  entire  continent.  But  in  such  a  resolve  as  that  of  returning 
to  Spain,  he  saw  the  impossibility  of  a  boat's  reaching  the  shore 
in  the  violent  high  sea  prevailing  ;  his  own  ships  were  not  sea 
worthy,  being  honeycombed  by  the  teredo  or  strained  by  the 
tempests,  almost  ready  to  fall  to  pieces.  He  was  also  short  of 
sailors.  The  dangers  of  these  stormy  seas,  and  of  the  rocks  near 


*  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  281. 


5IO  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

the  coasts,  rendered  any  effort  to  return  to  Spain  scarcely  less 
dangerous  than  the  exposure  on  shore  to  massacre  from  the  in 
furiated  Veraguans.  In  whichever  direction  his  thoughts  turned, 
he  encountered  difficulties  and  clangers  the  most  appalling.  Yet 
every  moment's  delay  increased  the  dangers  and  disasters  of  the 
situation,  for  at  any  moment  his  noble  brother  and  companions 
might  be  murdered  on  shore.  His  o\vn  strength  and  health  were 
exhausted  by  age,  disease,  hardships,  disasters,  nightly  vigils 
and  labors,  and  his  mind  and  body  were  wasted  by  his  anxieties, 
sorrows,  and  misfortunes.  All  seemed  lost,  where  worlds  had 
lately  been  the  prize. 

Tn  this  state  of  crushing  perturbation  of  the  admiral,  his  mind 
was  racked  with  anguish  and  fever,  despair  and  misfortune  ;  he 
dragged  himself  out  of  his  sick-bed  and  rushed  to  the  wheel- 
house  and  frantically  called  on  the  four  winds  to  help  him  in  his 
difficulties,  while  his  officers  stood  by  weeping  for  him  and  his 
cause.  This  state  of  mind  was  followed  by  a  lethargic  yet  dis 
turbed  sleep,  during  which  he  experienced  one  of  those  visions 
in  which  he  received  what  he  regarded  as  a  supernatural  comfort 
and  reassurance,  and  which  he  attributed  to  the  divine  inter 
vention.  His  own  words  will  convey  most  effectually  the  strange 
yet  interesting  condition  of  mind  and  body  in  which  Columbus 
was  plunged  by  his  misfortunes  : 

"  Overcome  by  fatigue,  I  fell  asleep  groaning,  and  I  heard  a 
voice  saying  to  me,  '  Oh,  thou  fool  !  slow  to  believe  and  to  serve 
thy  God,  and  God  of  all  !  What  more  did  He  for  Moses,  or  for 
His  servant  David,  than  He  has  done  for  thee  ?  From  thy  birth 
He  has  taken  the  greatest  care  of  thee.  When  He  saw  thee 
come  to  a  fitting  age,  He  marvellously  made  thy  name  resound 
throughout  the  earth.  The  Indies,  those  wealthy  regions  of  the 
world,  He  gave  thee  for  thine  own,  and  empowered  thee  to  dis 
pose  of  them  according  to  thy  pleasure.  He  delivered  to  thee 
the  key  of  the  barriers  of  the  Ocean  Sea,  which  was  shut  up  with 
such  mighty  chains.  Thy  orders  were  obeyed  in  many  countries, 
and  among  Christians  thou  didst  acquire  honorable  fame.  What 
more  did  He  for  the  people  of  Israel,  when  He  led  them  forth 
from  Egypt  ?  Or  even  for  David,  whom,  finding  a  shepherd, 
He  made  King  of  Judea  ?  Turn,  then,  to  Him,  and  acknowledge 
thy  error  ;  His  mercy  is  infinite.  Thy  age  shall  be  no  impedi 
ment  to  any  great  undertaking.  He  has  many  and  vast  inherit- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  511 

ances  yet  in  reserve.  Abraham  was  above  a  hundred  years 
when  he  begat  Isaac  ;  and  was  Sarah  youthful  ?  Thou  urgest 
for  succor  despondingly.  Answer  !  who  hath  afflicted  thee  so 
much  and  so  many  times — God,  or  the  world  ?  The  privileges 
and  promises  which  God  hath  made  to  thee,  He  hath  never 
broken  ;  neither  hath  He  said,  after  having  received  the  services, 
that  His  meaning  was  different,  or  was  to  be  understood  in  a 
different  sense  ;  nor  did  He  inflict  pain  in  order  to  show  forth 
His  power.  He  performs  to  the  very  letter,  He  fulfils  all  that 
He  promises,  and  with  increase.  Is  not  this  His  custom  ?  See 
what  thy  Creator  hath  done  for  thee,  and  what  He  doeth  for  all. 
The  present  is  the  reward  of  the  toils  and  perils  thou  hast  en 
dured  in  serving  others.' 

"  In  hearing  this,"  writes  Columbus,  "  I  was  as  one  almost 
dead,  and  had  no  power  to  reply  to  words  so  true  ;  I  could  only 
bewail  my  errors.  Whoever  it  was  that  spoke  to  me,  finished 
by  saying  :  '  Fear  not  !  Have  confidence.  All  these  toils  and 
tribulations  are  graven  in  marble,  and  it  is  not  without  cause.' ' 

Various  views  have  been  expressed  of  this  remarkable  occur 
rence  in  the  life  of  Columbus  ;  but  no  one  can  fail  to  acknowl 
edge  the  grand  simplicity  and  noble  good  faith  with  which  the 
statement  is  made  by  the  author  of  these  words.  While  some 
suppose  that  this  narrative  of  a  dream  was  an  illy-disguised  lesson 
intended  to  be  applied  to  the  king,  and  to  secure  the  restitution 
of  his  rights,  Mr.  Irving  joins  the  great  mass  of  writers  in  reject 
ing  this  view,  saying  :  "  He  was  too  deeply  imbued  with  awe  of 
the  Deity,  and  with  reverence  for  his  sovereign,  to  make  use  of 
such  an  artifice."  And  while  attributing  this  strange  yet  simple 
and  honest  account  to  the  characteristic  faith  of  Columbus  in  the 
supernatural,  to  his  belief  that  he  was  one  divinely  chosen  for  a 
great  mission,  and  to  the  peculiar  and  perhaps  unprecedented 
situation  in  which  he  was  placed,  Mr.  Irving  seems  to  enter  the 
personality  of  this  remarkable  man,  and  see  this  dream  partly 
from  the  admiral's  standpoint,  while  yet  wondering  at  such 
"  striking  illustrations  of  a  character  richly  compounded  of  ex 
traordinary  and  apparently  contradictory  elements."*  He  re 
jects  the  view  of  the  supernatural  origin  of  the  vision.  Tarducci 


*  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  368  ;  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's 
"Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  282-83. 


512  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

attributes  this  circumstance  to  the  exalted  views  the  admiral 
entertained  of  his  mission,  to  his  unfaltering  and  ever  fresh  senti 
ments  of  religion,  and  to  his  facing  then  a  situation  which  seemed 
to  terminate  all  his  hopes.*  But  the  Count  de  Lorgues  enthusi 
astically  announces  his  belief  in  the  reality  of  the  supernatural 
vision,  and  places  the  admiral  in  supernatural  intercourse  with 
the  Deity. f  Father  Knight  writes  :  "  If  visions  are  impossible, 
this  was  no  vision.  Comfort  so  opportune  and  so  efficacious 
may  easily  have  been  something  of  a  higher  order  than  Irving, 
in  his  '  impatience  of  the  supernatural,'  supposes.  The  change 
produced  could  not  have  been  more  complete  if  the  voice  which 
Columbus  heard  was  really,  as  he  himself  believed,  a  message 
from  God,"  and  spurns  the  thought  that  this  was  "  the  raving  of 
a  disordered  mind."  However  it  may  be  viewed,  Columbus 
came  out  of  his  sleep  full  of  consolation,  courage,  and  persever 
ance.  Humboldt-says  :  "  His  description  of  this  vision  is  all  the 
more  pathetic  for  the  bitter  rebuke  it  contains,  directed  with 
bold  frankness  to  powerful  monarchs  by  a  man  unjustly  perse 
cuted."  % 

On  awakening  from  his  sleep,  though  much  encouraged, 
Columbus  had  for  nine  days  longer  to  endure  tempestuous 
weather.  As  soon  as  the  storm  subsided  the  provisions  and 
other  movable  effects  were  brought  off  in  boats  from  the  Gallego 
to  the  fleet,  but  it  was  impossible  to  get  the  caravel  across  the 
bar  of  the  river.  Diego  Mendez  accomplished  the  onerous  and 
difficult  work  of  transferring  the  property  to  the  ships  with  con- 
sumrpate  skill  and  prudence.  The  men  were  also  carried  in 
boats  to  the  ships,  and  when  all  was  accomplished  Diego  Mendez 
with  five  men  remained  on  shore  to  the  last,  and  they  then  returned 
together  to  join  their  companions  on  the  ships.  The  joy  of  the 
colonists  on  being  rescued  from  that  fatal  shore  was  unbounded, 
and  their  return  to  the  ships  and  their  companions  was  hailed 
with  delight  on  both  sides.  The  admiral  was  so  grateful  to 
Mendez  that  he  embraced  him  most  affectionately  again  and 
again,  and,  as  a  token  of  his  high  appreciation  of  his  services 
in  great  emergencies,  raised  him  to  the  rank  of  captain,  and 

*  Tarducci's  "Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  284. 

\  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  Count  de  Lorgues'  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  p.  480  ; 
Father  Knight's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  p.  209. 

\  Humboldt,  "Voyage,"  etc.,  vol.  iii.,  book  9,  chap.  28. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  513 

gave  him  the  command  of  the  ship  which  Diego  Tristan  had 
commanded  before  his  cruel  death  at  the  hands  of  the  Indians. 

In  the  latter  part  of  April — on  Easter  night,  1503 — Columbus 
with  his  three  ships  sailed  from  a  coast  which  was  bright  with 
gold,  but  had  proved  the  harbor  of  death.  The  grandeur  of  his 
conceptions  and  of  his  enterprise,  in  attempting  at  that  early 
period  the  circumnavigation  of  the  earth,  entitles  him  to  our 
admiration.  Though  the  attempt  failed,  it  solved  the  problem 
of  the  earth's  geography  on  this  point,  and  his  theories  were,  in 
the  main,  based  upon  the  most  advanced  thought  and  study  on 
the  shape  and  structure  of 'our  planet.  Had  he  been  provided 
with  ships  and  equipments  in  keeping  with  the  power  and  gran 
deur  of  the  Spanish  nation,  and  of  the  importance  of  the  enter 
prise,  the  flag  of  Spain  would  have  floated,  under  Columbus, 
over  empires,  and  on  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  His  spirit 
of  intelligent  enterprise  and  adventure  would  never  have  rested 
short  of  such  results. 

His  intention  was  to  sail  for  Hispaniola,  repair  his  ships,  obtain 
provisions,  and  then  sail  for  Spain  ;  but  when  his  crews  saw  him 
sailing  along  the  coast  eastwardly  instead  of  northwardly,  in  the 
direct  route  to  Hispaniola,  their  surprise  was  great,  and  they 
murmured  at  his  attempting  so  long  a  voyage  without  adequate 
provisions  and  with  ships  that  were  strained  and  worm-eaten. 
The  Count  de  Lorgues  construes  the  action  of  Columbus  as 
another  and  final  attempt  to  accomplish  the  discovery  of  the 
interoceanic  passage  and  the  circumnavigation  of  the  globe  ;  but 
this  view  is  not  tenable  in  face  of  his  scanty  provisions  and 
the  unsea worthy  condition  of  the  ships,  and  is  not  supported  by 
his  biographers  or  by  historians  generally.  On  the  contrary,  he 
and  his  brother  had  made  so  accurate  a  study  of  those  waters 
and  of  their  peculiar  currents,  that  they  knew  it  was  necessary 
to  gain  a  considerable  distance  to  the  east  before  attempting  to 
cross  the  sea  intervening  between  them  and  Hispaniola,  in  order 
to  avoid  being  carried  away  and  far  below  their  destined  port  by 
the  strong  westerly  currents  prevailing  in  those  waters.  It  is 
also  conjectured  that  the  admiral,  after  having  experienced  the 
disposition  of  his  contemporaries  to  avail  themselves  of  his  dis 
coveries  and  charts,  and  appropriate  and  claim  for  themselves  re 
sults  after  he  had  discovered  and  pointed  out  the  way,  was  deter 
mined  now  to  foil  such  efforts  by  keeping  to  himself  all  knowledge 


OLD   AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

of  the  route  to  the  opulent  regions  and  gold-mines  of  Veragua. 
Hence  he  disregarded  the  murmurs  of  his  pilots  and  seamen,  and 
kept  his  own  course.  Violent  disputes  arose  among  the  pilots  as 
to  the  proper  route  to  take,  and  Columbus,  in  order  to  maintain 
his  authority  and  decide  for  himself  so  important  a  question,  in 
which  opinions  were  so  divided,  seized  all  the  marine  charts  in 
the  possession  of  the  pilots.  It  seems  illogical  for  so  eminent  a 
writer  as  Humboldt  to  accuse  Columbus  in  this  of  an  abuse  of 
power.  How  could  discipline  or  obedience  be  maintained  in  so 
perilous  or  so  important  a  service  in  which  Columbus  was  then 
engaged,  if  the  pilots  were  permitted  to  indulge  in  violent  and 
wordy  altercations  as  to  the  course  to  be  followed  ?  These  very 
charts  were  the  basis  of  the  disputes,  and  their  seizure  was  neces 
sary  for  the  maintenance  of  an  authority  essential  to  the  safety 
of  all.  Not  only  this  act,  but  also  the  following  statement  of 
Columbus  in  his  report  to  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  was  rendered 
necessary  by  the  treachery  and  bad  faith  which  he  had  experi 
enced.  If,  while  his  proposals  were  rejected  by  Portugal,  the 
Portuguese  King  treacherously  sent  out  an  expedition  to  rob 
him  of  his  discovery,  and  now,  after  he  had  achieved  it,  King 
Ferdinand  had  sent  another  governor  to  supersede  him,  and  he 
was  not  permitted  even  to  take  shelter  from  a  storm  in  the  very 
harbor  he  had  established,  he  was  justified  in  protecting  himself 
and  in  frankly  declaring  his  purpose.  "  The  pilots  may  tell  the 
position  of  Veragua  if  they  know  it  ;  I  maintain  that  the}-  can 
give  no  other  description  than  this  :  '  We  have  been  in  certain 
countries  where  there  is  great  quantity  of  gold,'  and  that  the}' 
can  certify  to  ;  but  they  are  ignorant  of  the  way  to  return  thither  ; 
to  go  there  again,  they  would  have  to  discover  it  anew. "  Arriv 
ing  at  Puerto  Bello,  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  the  third 
caravel,  the  Vizcaina,  on  account  of  her  sinking  condition,  and 
even  here  his  most  necessary  acts,  as,  on  all  former  occasions, 
taken  for  the  safety  of  all,  were  criticised.  The  crew  of  the 
abandoned  ship  were  distributed  between  the  other  two,  and 
these  were  worm-eaten  and  too  dangerous  to  sail  in.  Columbus 
continued  his  easterly  course  as  far  as  Port  Retrete,  discovered 
the  Mulata  Islands,  and  went  ten  leagues  beyond  the  entrance 
to  the  Gulf  of  Darien,  and  several  leagues  beyond  his  former 
course,  apparently  in  search  of  the  strait,  thus  giving  color  to 
the  view  of  the  Count  de  Lorgues,  that  even  now,  with  such 


ON  COLUMBUS.  515 

odds  against  him,  he  was  heroically  seeking  again  the  solution 
of  his  great  geographical  and  commercial  problem,  the  inspiring 
object  of  his  fourth  and  last  voyage.  But  here  he  called  a  coun 
cil  of  the  captains  and  pilots,  and  upon  their  unanimous  opinion 
against  the  further  search  for  the  strait,  he  turned  his  course  on 
May  ist  to  the  north,  and  for  Hispaniola.  Here  again  the  east 
winds  and  currents  swept  the  ships  greatly  to  the  west  ;  the 
admiral,  with  rare  seamanship  and  against  the  remonstrances  of 
his  pilots,  kept  close  to  the  wind,  for  he  assured  them  they  would 
be  carried  west  of  Hispaniola,  while  they  asserted  the  contrary. 
On  May  loth  the  ships  passed  in  sight  of  the  Caymans,  two  small 
islands  northwest  of  Hispaniola,  which  he  called  Tortugas,  on 
account  of  the  multitude  of  tortoises  seen  around  them.  On  the 
1 2th  he  found  himself  thirty  leagues  from  that  place,  and  among 
a  group  of  islands  south  of  Cuba  and  the  Queen's  Gardens,  and 
with  all  his  precautions  the  ships  were  eight  or  nine  degrees 
west  of  San  Domingo. 

The  situation  of  Columbus  was  growing  more  perilous  every 
moment,  for  the  sailors  were  kept  at  the  pumps  day  and  night, 
while  all  they  had  to  sustain  their  stomachs  was  a  morsel  of 
musty  biscuit,  oil,  and  vinegar.  It  was  difficult  to  keep  the 
water  from  gaining  on  the  ships,  and  here  at  their  first  anchorage, 
and  at  midnight,  the  leaking  ships  were  assailed  by  so  vio 
lent  a  storm  that  Columbus  compared  it  to  the  end  of  the  world. 
Three  of  their  anchors  were  lost,  the  two  ships  were  thrown 
against  each  other  with  such  violence  as  to  shatter  the  bow  of 
one  and  the  stern  of  the  other,  and  it  seemed  like  a  miracle  that 
the  admiral's  ship  was  not  lost,  with  the  cable  of  her  only  re 
maining  anchor  reduced  to  mere  thread  by  friction  on  the  rocks, 
when  the  dawn  enabled  them  to  replace  it  with  another.  For 
six  days  and  nights  the  ships  were  in  constant  peril  from  the 
storm,  all  the  cables  were  lost,  the  water  was  pouring  in  through 
worm-eaten  holes,  and  the  sailors  were  exhausted  and  discour 
aged.  With  great  struggling  against  adverse  winds  and  cur 
rents  the  ships  reached  Cape  Cruz,  in  the  island  of  Cuba,  and 
anchored  near  an  Indian  village  in  the  province  of  Macaca, 
where  Columbus  had  touched  on  his  voyage  in  1494.  Here  they 
rested  and  obtained  some  provisions.  Another  effort  to  reach 
Hispaniola  was  defeated  by  adverse  winds  and  currents,  and  the 
tempest  was  renewed.  It  was  a  struggle  between  life  and  death  ; 


516  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

it  was  not  enough  to  keep  the  pumps  working  day  and  night  ;v 
buckets,  kettles,  and  pitchers  were  also  brought  into  the  same 
desperate  service.  On  one  of  the  ships  the  water  had  reached 
the  deck.  The  dismal  expedient  of  running  the  ships  ashore,  per 
haps  to  fall  victims  to  hostile  Indians,  was  forced  upon  them,  but 
even  here  a  first  attempt  was  unsuccessful  at  Dry  Harbor,  as 
there  were  neither  natives  to  give  them  food  nor  water  to  refresh 
them.  Forced  again  to  sail,  they  finally  reached  the  harbor  in 
the  island  of  Jamaica  which  in  his  first  voyage  the  admiral  had  dis 
covered  and  named  Santa  Gloria,  and  here  the  sinking  ships  were 
run  upon  the  strand.  This  port  is  now  known  by  the  name  of 
the  admiral  himself,  the  Bay  of  Don  Cristobal.  The  ships  were 
wrecks,  little  more  than  their  frames  remaining  ;  like  Shake 
speare's  "  rotten  carcass  of  a  boat,"  they  were  tied  together  on 
the  beach,  a  bow-shot  from  shore,  thus  forming  a  sort  of  refuge 
for  the  admiral  and  his  companions.  The  water  reached  nearly 
to  the  decks  of  both  wrecks.  Without  a  roof  or  a  home  on  the 
land,  their  skeleton  ships  were  at  once  their  homes  and  their 
barracks  at  the  water's  edge — in  fact,  prisons  on  a  barbarous 
shore.  The  wrecks  were  put  in  a  state  of  defence,  and  barracks 
thatched  with  straw  were  erected  on  deck,  stern  and  forecastle. 
The  strictest  discipline  was  proclaimed  and  enforced,  the  men 
were  kept  busy,  and  visits  to  shore  without  permission  were  for 
bidden.  Such  measures  were  necessary,  for  the  admiral  knew 
too  well  that  the  men  were  prone  to  abuse  and  degrade  the 
natives,  even  when  they  themselves  were  reduced  to  the  lowest 
point  of  disaster,  and  in  danger  thereby  of  increasing  their  mis 
fortunes.  It  was  necessary  now  more  than  ever  to  gain  the  good 
will  of  the  natives  in  order  to  secure  food,  and  to  avoid  giving 
offence.  They  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  natives.  A  firebrand 
at  night  from  hostile  or  offended  Indians  would  consume  their 
roofs  and  barracks  to  the  water's  edge,  and  what  would  be  their 
helpless  condition  when  in  the  power  of  countless  enemies  ? 

"  All — all  the  storm 

Devour 'd  ;  and  now,  o'er  his  late  envied  fortune, 
The  dolphins  bound  and  wat'ry  mountains  roar, 
Triumphant  in  his  ruin." 

— YOUNG'S  "  REVENGE." 

In   the   most   overwhelming    misfortunes    mitigating   circum 
stances  are  hopefully  regarded  as  positive  good.     The  admiral 


ON   COLUMBUS.  517 

was  not  wholly  among  strangers,  for  he  had  visited  this  spot 
before  ;  the  island  was  populous,  near  by  was  the  village  of 
Maima,  whose  inhabitants  hastened  to  bring  provisions  to  the 
stranded  ships,  quite  happy  in  receiving  trifles  in  return.  In 
order  to  maintain  peace  with  his  neighbors,  the  Indians,  fairness 
of  dealing,  and  a  just  division  of  the  food  among  his  famished 
men,  Columbus  established  certain  necessary  measures  and  regu 
lations,  and  appointed  two  of  his  officers  to  superintend.  All 
was  at  first  harmonious,  but  the  Indians  never  provided  much 
even  for  themselves  in  advance,  and  the  provisions  in  their 
cabins  soon  became  exhausted.  Famine  seemed  at  the  very  bar 
racks  of  the  Spaniards.  In  this  emergency  the  ever-faithful 
Diego  Mendez  volunteered  to  seek  and  apply  measures  of  relief. 
Setting  out  with  three  others,  he  visited  successively  the  Indian 
chiefs.  He  was  not  only  received  and  treated  with  hospitality, 
but  with  three  caciques  whom  he  visited  he  made  the  most  sat 
isfactory  arrangements  for  supplies  of  food,  and  in  each  case  he 
sent  one  of  his  three  companions  to  apprise  the  admiral  of  the 
good  results  of  his  important  mission.  Left  now  alone,  he  con 
tinued  his  journey  to  the  eastern  end  of  the  island,  and  made 
friends  of  several  powerful  caciques.  From  the  last  he  pur 
chased  an  excellent  canoe,  and  with  six  Indians  he  returned 
along  the  coast  to  the  ships,  and  was  received  with  triumph  and 
gratitude  by  the  admiral  and  all  his  countrymen.  His  canoe  was 
loaded  with  the  provisions  he  had  purchased.  The  supply  was 
continued  by  the  daily  arrival  of  Indians  well  loaded,  and  the 
traffic  was  mutually  satisfactory. 

Columbus  now  became  anxious  for  his  deliverance  from  this 
helpless  and  dangerous  situation,  and  still  more  anxious  to  secure 
to  his  country  and  the  world  the  knowledge  and  the  fruits  of  his 
recent  discoveries.  Cut  off  from  Hispaniola  by  forty  leagues  of 
sea,  and  that  sea  subject  to  capricious  currents  and  winds,  with 
no  boat,  his  ships  wrecked,  and  without  human  hope  of  commu 
nication  with  the  rest  of  the  world,  the  possibility  of  perishing 
in  this  remote  wilderness,  deprived  of  the  consolations  of  relig 
ion,  with  no  prospect  of  realizing  the  results  of  his  labors  and 
sacrifices,  and  with  still  less  hope  of  being  able  to  secure  the 
deliverance  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  to  Christendom,  he  found 
himself  in  "  a  disheartening  position,  because  there  was  no  outlet 


518  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

from  it."  *  '  What  was  to  become  of  them,  and  how  were  they 
to  get  away  from  the  island  ?"  asks  the  learned  Tarducci.  Trust 
ing  that  God  would  provide  him  with  the  means  of  communica 
tion,  Columbus,  ever  hopeful  and  fruitful  in  resources,  wrote  to 
the  Spanish  sovereigns  a  detailed  account  of  his  momentous  voy 
age,  the  discovery  of  the  gold  regions  of  Veragua,  and  his  pres 
ent  misfortunes,  and  he  besought  their  Majesties  to  send  a  ship 
to  his  relief.  This  remarkable  and  now  famous  letter  was  dated 
July  ;th,  1503. 

The  writings  of  Columbus,  his  letters,  the  living  communica 
tions  of  his  feelings  to  his  sovereigns  or  to  his  friends  present  a 
candid  reflection  of  the  character  of  the  man.  This  letter,  or 
rather  report  to  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  written  by  Columbus 
from  his  stranded  ships  on  the  coast  of  Jamaica,  is  justly  re 
garded  as  one  of  the  most  important  documents  of  his  career. 
Remaining  for  centuries  forgotten  and  unnoticed,  although  it 
had  been  printed  in  Spain,  it  was  again  brought  to  light  about  the 
year  1822,  when  the  historical  and  literary  world  was  aroused  by 
its  publication,  and  the  learned  societies  of  Venice,  Bassano, 
Pisa,  Florence,  Genoa,  Milan,  Pavia,  Rome,  and  Paris  were  elec 
trified  by  its  contents,  and  the  learned  librarian  Morelli,  of 
Venice,  published  it  with  copious  notes  of  his  own  under  the 
title  of  "  Littera  Rarissima."  Valuable  on  account  of  its  geo 
graphical  and  scientific  discoveries  and  thoughtful  reflections,  it 
derives  a  special  interest  from  the  critical  and  desperate  circum 
stances  under  which  it  was  written.  Its  significant  and  ringing 
notes  rise  like  a  voice  of  indignant  and  just  appeal  from  the 
depths  of  the  wilderness,  and  it  has  well  been  said  that  no  other 
man  could  have  written  such  a  letter.  Its  method  of  transmis 
sion  was  most  extraordinary.  The  classic  language  of  our  own 
Irving  thus  describes  the  letter  of  Columbus  from  Jamaica : 
"  Nothing  is  more  characteristic  of  Columbus  than  his  earnest, 
artless,  eloquent,  and  at  times  almost  incoherent  letters.  What 
an  instance  of  soaring  enthusiasm  and  irrepressible  enterprise  is 
here  exhibited  !  At  the  time  that  he  was  indulging  in  these 
visions,  and  proposing  new  and  romantic  enterprises,  he  was 
broken  down  by  age  and  infirmities,  racked  by  pain,  confined  to 


*  Count   de    Lorgues*    "  Columbus,"  Dr.  Barry's  translation,    p.  486  ;  Tarducci's 
"  Columbus,"  Brownson's  translation,  vol.  ii.,  p.  292. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  519 

his  bed,  and  shut  up  in  a  wreck  on  the  coast  of  a  remote  and 
savage  island.  No  stronger  picture  can  be  given  of  his  situation 
than  that  which  follows  this  transient  glow  of  excitement ;  when, 
with  one  of  his  sudden  transitions  of  thought,  he  awakens,  as  it 
v/ere,  to  his  actual  condition."  Graphic  as  is  this  passage  from 
the  pen  of  Washington  Irving,  he  seems  to  lose  sight  of  the  fact 
that  Columbus  was  in  his  character  and  life  always  an  entirety  ; 
in  the  most  disastrous  positions  in  which  he  might  be  placed,  he 
never  gave  himself  up  wholly  and  exclusively  to  the  sorrow  of 
the  occasion  or  to  the  saddening  contemplation  of  his  perils. 
These  formed  a  part  only  of  his  thoughts  and  sensations,  but 
never  to  the  exclusion  of  other  and  brighter  and  more  successful 
epochs  and  aspirations  of  his  life,  and  more  especially  of  the  yet 
unaccomplished  but  never  abandoned  aspirations  of  his  soul,  andf 
plans  of  future  grandeur  and  usefulness.  Hence  we  see  mingled 
in  the  same  letter  a  prayer  for  a  ship  to  be  sent  for  his  rescue 
from  destruction,  and  the  announcement  of  his  ever-cherished 
plan  for  the  relief  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  He  sues  at  one  and 
the  same  time  for  his  life  and  for  the  restitution  of  his  offices, 
titles,  revenues,  and  estates.  It  is  extraordinary  that  in  such 
extremities  the  human  mind  was  capable  of  grasping  the  grandest 
interests  of  mankind,  and  at  the  same  moment  detailing  the  most 
minute  particulars  of  his  own  and  his  companions'  affairs,  even 
to  the  demand  for  the  payment  of  the  arrears  of  pay  due  to  his 
crews. 

After  relating  the  unparalleled  labors,  hardships,  and  perils  of 
his  fourth  voyage,  he  discloses  the  existence  of  the  ocean  beyond 
the  lands  he  had  discovered,  narrates  the  discovery  of  the  con 
tinent,  the  gold  regions  of  Veragua,  and,  as  if  especially  address 
ing  himself  to  the  king,  he  writes,  ' '  I  make  more  of  the  scale  and 
of  the  gold  mines  of  this  country  than  of  all  that  has  been  done 
in  the  Indies."  He  makes  a  direct  appeal  for  the  payment  of 
the  back  pay  of  his  men,  who  had  followed  him  through  every 
peril,  and  would,  on  their  return  to  Spain,  announce  the  grandest 
results  of  Spanish  discoveries.  While  those  who  had  abandoned 
his  great  work,  undertaken  for  the  honor  of  Spain,  and  had 
culumniated  the  administration  of  the  discoverer  of  the  new 
world,  were  rewarded  with  offices,  which  he  boldly  denounces 
as  a  scandal,  the  discoverer  and  his  companions  are  left  to  perish 
in  a  savage  land.  He  recalls  by  a  delicate  but  significant  and 


520  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

unmistakable  allusion  the  unaccomplished  and  not  attempted 
delivery  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  when  he  sayS,  "  The  other  affair, 
the  most  important  one,  remains  where  it  was,  calling  with  out 
stretched  arms  !  It  has  been  passed  over  as  foreign,  even  to  this 
hour  !"  Who  could  not  see  in  this  metaphor  what  Columbus 
saw  with  the  eyes  of  his  soul,  the  Saviour  extending  forth  His 
arms  from  the  Holy  Sepulchre  in  supplication  for  deliverance 
from  the  hands  of  the  infidels  ?  Even  when  he  claims,  with 
severe  justice,  the  restitution  of  his  property,  his  honors,  his 
dignities,  his  offices  and  estates,  feeling  ever  present  in  his  heart 
the  desire  to  devote  them  to  the  deliverance  of  the  Holy  Sepul 
chre,  he  demands  it  as  something  due  to  God  Himself,  and  he 
exclaims  to  the  sovereigns,  "It  is  just  to  give  to  God  what 
belongs  to  Him."  And  again,  "  In  acting  thus  your  Highnesses 
will  show  a  high  degree  of  virtue,  and  will  leave  Spain  a  grand 
example  and  a  glorious  memory  as  just  and  grateful  princes. " 
And  again  he  says,  "  Jerusalem  and  Mount  Zion  are  to  be  re 
built  by  the  hand  of  a  Christian.  Who  is  he  to  be  ?  God,  by 
the  mouth  of  the  prophet,  in  the  fourteenth  psalm  declares  it. 
The  Abbot  Joachim  says  he  is  to  come  out  of  Spain."  He  ap 
peals  to  the  king  and  queen  in  behalf  of  the  new  countries  he  had 
given  to  Spain.  '  This  is  not  a  child,  to  be  abandoned  to  a  step 
mother.  I  never  think  of  Hispaniola  and  Paria  without  weep 
ing.  Their  case  is  desperate  and  past  cure.  I  hope  their  ex 
ample  may  cause  this  region  to  be  treated  in  a  different  manner." 
The  admiral  again  alludes  to  the  Grand  Khan,  whose,  dominions 
he  still  asserts  he  had  approached,  and  reminds  the  Catholic 
sovereigns  that  that  potentate  had  requested  learned  and  zealous 
missionaries  to  be  sent  to  instruct  him  and  his  subjects  in  the 
Christian  faith. 

Heretofore,  in  this  great  epic  composition,  the  admiral  had 
spoken  mostly  of  other  interests,  or,  in  alluding  to  himself,  to 
his  public  relations  to  the  crown  ;  but  now  the  injustice  he  had 
sustained  and  the  royal  ingratitude,  the  tragic  character  of  his 
misfortunes,  and  the  very  romance  of  his  disasters,  swell  up  in 
his  soul,  and  he  seems  to  place  his  cause  before  all  posterity  in 
placing  it  before  his  sovereigns.  In  language  which  reads 
like  that  of  the  weeping  prophets  of  Judea,  like  the  lamentations 
of  ancient  seers,  he  exclaims  :  "  Hitherto  I  have  wept  for  others  ; 
but  now,  have  pity  upon  me,  Heaven,  and  weep  for  me,  O  earth  I 


ON   COLUMBUS.  521 

In  my  temporal  concerns,  without  a  farthing  to  offer  for  a  mass  ; 
cast  away  here  in  the  Indies  ;  surrounded  by  cruel  and  hostile 
savages  ;  isolated,  infirm,  expecting  each  day  will  be  my  last  ; 
in  spiritual  concerns  separated  from  the  holy  sacraments  of  the 
Church,  so  that  my  soul,  if  parted  here  from  my  body,  must  be 
forever  lost  !  Weep  for  me,  whoever  has  charity,  truth,  and 
justice  !  I  came  not  on  this  voyage  to  gain  honor  or  estate,  that 
is  most  certain,  for  all  hope  of  the  kind  was  already  dead  within 
me.  I  came  to  serve  your  Majesties  with  a  sound  intention  and 
an  honest  zeal,  and  I  speak  no  falsehood.  If  it  should  please 
God  to  deliver  me  hence,  I  humbly  supplicate  your  Majesties  to 
permit  me  to  repair  to  Rome  and  perform  other  pilgrimages." 

Such  a  letter  is  truly,  as  Humboldt  says,  an  initiation  into 
"the  inward  struggles  of  the  great  soul  of  Columbus."*  But 
that  such  a  document  should  have  been  written  by  Columbus  to 
the  sovereigns  of  Spain,  under  circumstances  which  to  all  were 
acknowledged  to  exclude  absolutely  all  possibility  of  transmitting 
it  to  Spain,  is  almost  as  wonderful  a  fact  as  the  contents  of 
the  letter  itself.  How  even  would  it  be  possible  to  communi 
cate  to  Ovando  at  San  Domingo  his  forlorn  condition,  and  ask 
for  transportation  to  Hispaniola  and  to  Spain  ?  But  Columbus 
had  faith.  The  following  conversation  and  the  result  of  it  ex 
hibit  the  character  of  Columbus  in  the  direst  extremities,  reflected 
in  the  noble  achievement  of  one  of  his  faithful  companions.  He 
knew  that  his  only  chance  of  communication  with  San  Domingo 
lay  in  the  fruitful  genius,  ardent  loyalty,  and  undaunted  bravery 
of  Diego  Mendez,  which  had  never  failed  him.  Calling,  there 
fore,  that  brave  and  gifted  mariner  and  soldier  to  his  side,  the 
admiral  made  no  direct  allusion  to  Mendez  ;  but  the  following 
conversation,  as  related  by  Mendez  himself,  occurred  : 

'  Diego  Mendez,  my  son,"  said  Columbus,  "  of  all  that  are 
here,  only  you  and  I  understand  the  great  peril  in  which  we  are 
placed.  We  are  few  in  number,  while  these  savage  Indians  are 
many,  and  fickle  and  irritable  by  nature.  On  the  least  provoca 
tion,  on  a  mere  suspicion  or  caprice,  they  may  at  any  moment 
become  enemies,  and  can  easily  throw  firebrands  on  our  ships 
from  the  shore  and  consume  us  in  our  straw-thatched  barracks. 
The  arrangement  which  you  made  with  them  for  provisions,  and 


*  "  Histoire  de  la  Gfeographie  du  Nouveau  Continent,"  torn.  Hi.,  §  ii. 


522  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

which  at  present  they  keep  so  faithfully,  may  not  satisfy  them 
to-morrow,  and  they  may  withhold  their  assistance  ;  and  with 
out  the  means  of  compelling  them  we  shall  be  entirely  at  their 
pleasure.  I  have  thought  of  a  way  of  escaping  from  this  danger, 
but  I  desire  to  hear  your  opinion  first.  It  is  that  some  one 
should  venture  to  pass  over  to  Hispaniola  in  the  canoe  you 
bought,  and  procure  a  ship  to  take  us  out  of  our  perilous  posi 
tion.  Now,  tell  me  your  opinion." 

The  bold  and  gallant  Mendez  replied  :  "  I  see  clearly,  sir,  the 
danger  we  are  in,  and  it  is  much  greater  than  any  one  could 
imagine.  As  to  passing  from  this  island  to  Hispaniola  in  so 
small  and  frail  a  boat  as  this  canoe,  I  believe  is  not  only  very 
difficult,  but  even  impossible  ;  for  I  do  not  know  who  would 
venture  on  such  evident  danger  as  crossing  a  gulf  forty  leagues 
between  the  islands,  when  the  sea  is  so  boisterous." 

The  dangers  and  difficulties  of  such  an  adventure  can  more 
readily  be  appreciated,  when  so  fearless  and  adventurous  a  hero 
as  Diego  Mendez  could  not  imagine  how  or  by  whom  it  was  to 
be  undertaken  or  accomplished.  The  expressive  countenance, 
the  very  silence  of  Columbus,  his  noble  and  considerate  bearing — 
all  told  the  heroic  Mendez  that  the  admiral  could  think  of  no  one 
else  but  himself  as  the  man  for  this  appalling  yet  not  impossible 
task.  Diego's  generous  ardor  was  equal  to  the  admiral's  trust, 
and,  prompted  by  the  exalted  sentiment  within,  he  electrified 
his  superior  by  the  following  magnanimous  and  immediate  reply  : 

"  Sir,  I  have  often  risked  my  life  to  save  you  and  all  those 
who  are  here,  and  God  has  preserved  me  in  a  miraculous  manner. 
There  have  not  been  wanting  maligners  of  my  conduct,  who  say 
that  your  lordship  entrusts  to  me  all  the  affairs  in  which  honor 
is  to  be  gained,  while  there  are  others  among  them  who  would 
execute  them  as  successfully  as  I.  For  this  reason,  it  seems  fair, 
sir,  that  you  should  summon  all  the  rest,  and  propose  to  them 
this  enterprise,  to  see  if  any  of  them  are  willing  to  undertake  it, 
which  I  greatly  doubt.  If  they  all  decline,  I  will  then  risk  my 
life  for  your  service,  as  I  have  often  done." 

The  admiral's  plan  was  now  sure  of  execution,  and  so  mani 
festly  wise  and  prudent  was  the  proposal  of  Mendez,  that  it  was 
immediately  carried  into  effect,  and  with  anticipated  result.  All 
the  officers  thus  summoned  to  hear  the  admiral's  proposition, 
with  one  voice  declared  it  impossible.  It  was  then  that  Diego 


OX   COLUMBUS.  523 

Mendez  modestly  but  gallantly  stepped  forward,  and  said  : 
"  Sir,  I  have  but  one  life  to  lose,  yet  I  am  willing  to  venture  it 
for  your  service  and  for  the  good  of  al'l  here  present,  and  I  trust 
that  God,  our  Lord,  viewing  the  intention  by  which  I  am  di 
rected,  will  preserve  me  as  He  has  so  often  done  before."  *  The 
admiral  arose  and  embraced  the  noble  and  generous  Diego  with 
every  manifestation  and  expression  of  gratitude  and  love,  saying 
that  he  knew  how  Mendez  could  be  depended  upon  for  the  exe 
cution  of  this  most  perilous  and  difficult  affair,  and  expressed  his 
confidence  in  the  protection  of  God  over  him. 

With  the  gallant  Mendez  it  was  no  sooner  said  than  executed. 
He  prepared  his  Indian  canoe  with  keel,  boards  along  her  sides  and 
stern  tq  guard  against  the  sea,  tarred  it  well,  put  in  a  mast,  a 
sail  and  provisions,  and  hopefully  and  bravely  departed  on  his 
miniature  ship.  A  brave  Spaniard,  whose  name  it  would  be  a 
pleasure  to  the  historian  to  record  if  known,  volunteered  for  the 
voyage,  and  six  Indians  accompanied  him.  It  was  the  dangers 
on  land  that  proved  the  defeat  of  this  heroic  attempt  ;  for  after 
having  reached  the  point  in  Jamaica  nearest  Hispaniola,  and 
having  escaped  capture  by  a  flotilla  of  Indian  canoes,  he  and  his 
canoe  were  captured  by  the  natives,  who  resolved  to  put  him 
and  his  companions  to  death  and  divide  the  plunder.  A  quarrel 
among  his  captors  and  his  own  ready  address  enabled  him,  in 
the  very  presence  of  the  Indians,  who  were  playing  a  game  of 
chance  to  decide  the  distribution  of  the  booty,  to  escape  by 
jumping  from  tree  to  tree  until  he  reached  the  shore  ;  and  here, 
stepping  into  his  canoe,  he  reached  the  admiral's  barracks  in 
safety.  It  is  not  known  what  became  of  his  Spanish  companion. 
He  immediately  and  undauntedly  offered  to  set  out  again  on  his 
perilous  voyage,  provided  he  was  accompanied  by  a  sufficient 
number  of  men  to  protect  him  from  the  natives  until  he  should 
have  put  out  to  sea.  The  bravery  of  Diego  Mendez  now  became 
contagious.  Many  now  offered  to  accompany  him  on  the  ex 
pedition,  which  was  thereupon  increased  to  two  canoes,  one 
under  the  command  of  Diego  Mendez,  the  other  under  that  of 
Bartholomew  Fiesco,  who  was  formerly  captain  of  the  Vizcaina, 
a  gentleman  of  Genoa,  devoted  to  Columbus,  and  a  man  of  high 


*  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of   Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  293, 
294. 


524  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

character  and  courage.  Each  of  these  brave  captains  was  accom 
panied  by  six  Spaniards,  and  each  had  ten  Indians  to  act  as  oars 
men.  The  two  canoes  were  to  keep  company  until  they  reached 
Hispaniola,  when  Fiesco  was  to  repeat  the  perilous  voyage  in 
returning  to  relieve  the  anxiety  of  the  admiral  as  to  the  safe 
arrival  of  Mendez,  while  the  latter  was  instructed  to  proceed 
overland  to  San  Domingo  and  deliver  to  Ovando  a  letter  request 
ing  that  a  ship  be  sent  immediately  to  bring  him  and  his  com 
panions  to  Hispaniola,  and  thence  to  proceed  to  Spain  and  de 
liver  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  the  important  dispatches  the 
admiral  had  addressed  to  them. 

With  good  heart  the  bold  deliverers  started  on  their  mission 
of  humanity.  The  canoes  were  provisioned  with  cassava  bread 
and  the  meat  of  utias,  the  men  wore  sword  and  buckler,  the 
Adelantado  escorted  them  to  the  end  of  the  island  with  a  suffi 
cient  force  for  their  protection,  and  after  waiting  three  days  for 
a  favorable  sea,  the  generous  captains  passed  out  to  sea  amid  the 
prayers  of  all  for  their  safety.  The  Adelantado  vigilantly  and 
tenderly  watched  the  receding  canoes  from  the  shore,  until  at 
evening  they  faded  from  sight,  when  he  commenced  his  march 
back  to  the  ships,  visiting  the  friendly  caciques  on  the  way  and 
arranging  for  continuing  the  supplies. 

While  his  hopes  and  prayers  followed  his  friends  in  their  noble 
expedition,  Columbus  was  most  solicitous  for  the  sick  among  his 
little  colony  or  garrison  in  the  wrecks,  and  for  the  supply  of 
food  for  all,  while  he  was  himself  prostrated  on  his  bed  of  sick 
ness,  a  prey  to  the  most  excruciating  sufferings.  Well  might  he 
now  hope,  however,  that  relief  was  not  far  distant.  Yet  were 
there  ever  such  misfortunes,  such  treacheries,  such  splendid 
hopes  dimmed  by  adversities,  such  unjust  oppositions,  such  tor 
menting  physical  maladies,  such  betrayals,  such  revolts,  such 
ingratitude  as  he  had  to  meet  and  bear  ?  Shipwrecked  on  a 
savage  shore,  in  a  remote  and  unexplored  part  of  the  new  world, 
dependent  on  the  caprice  of  the  Indians  for  his  daily  food,  pros 
trated  with  disease,  spent  with  labor  and  vigils,  enfeebled  by 
age,  and  cut  off  from  all  assistance,  surely  nothing  worse  could 
come  even  to  such  a  man  of  sorrows  and  misfortune  !  But  a 
worse  sorrow  awaited  the  prostrated  and  sick  but  ever  brave 
admiral,  now  the  commander  of  two  wretched  and  wrecked 
hulks,  the  remnants  of  the  unseaworthy  fleet  with  which  he  had 


ON   COLUMBUS.  525 

been  grudgingly  supplied  by  Ferdinand  and  Fonseca  for  his 
fourth  voyage — worse,  as  Mr.  Irving  says,  "  than  storm  or  ship 
wreck,  or  bodily  anguish,  or  the  violence  of  savage  hordes — the 
perfidy  of  those  in  whom  he  confided."  Such  was  the  mutiny 
of  the  Porras  brothers. 

Scarcely  had  the  brave  canoes  of  Mendez  and  Fiesco  departed 
amid  hopes  and  prayers,  when  a  reaction  set  in  among  the  ship 
wrecked  colony.  Recent  labors,  exposures,  and  fastings  had  been 
supplemented  by  the  unhealthy  climate  and  the  unaccustomed 
vegetable  diet  supplied  by  the  natives  as  causes  of  sickness, 
and  these  were  soon  followed  by  depression  of  spirits,  gloomy 
forebodings,  and  despondency.  The  vain  watchings  for  the 
return  of  Fiesco's  canoe  had  increased  the  mental  discontent, 
and  this  had  ripened  into  open  expressions  of  mutiny.  While 
the  chief,  spent  with  their  common  sufferings  and  hardships,  was 
doing  all  for  their  preservation  and  deliverance,  was  bearing 
with  them  the  same  adversities  and  meeting  the  same  fate,  they 
accused  him  of  being  the  cause  of  their  misfortunes,  instead  of 
extending  to  him  a  manly  sympathy  and  support.  In  such  a 
state  of  things  the  aimless  clamor  of  the  crowd  was  rendered 
formidable  by  the  assumed  leadership  of  two  officers,  whom  the 
admiral  had  favored  far  beyond  their  deserts  or  capacities  in 
order  to  please  Morales,  the  royal  treasurer,  and  who  had  proved 
themselves  ungrateful  and  insolent.  Columbus  had  met  with 
many  such  official  ruffians.  These  two  officers  were  Francisco 
de  Porras,  whom  he  had  appointed  captain  of  one  of  the  caravels, 
and  his  brother  Diego,  for  whom  he  had  obtained  the  appoint 
ment  of  notary  and  accountant-general  of  the  expedition.  Colum 
bus  had  extended  to  them  great  leniency  in  simply  reprimanding 
them  for  their  past  insolence  instead  of  dismissal  or  suspension. 
To  such  weak  and  treacherous  creatures  the  mild  reprimand  was 
an  insult,  and  they  became  the  enemies  of  their  benefactor. 

Availing  themselves  of  the  mutinous  spirit  of  the  crews,  these 
brothers  did  all  in  their  power  to  foment  an  open  mutiny  by 
mingling  among  them  and  spreading  all  kinds  of  slanders  and 
insinuations  and  reports  against  the  admiral.  They  represented 
the  expedition  of  Mendez  and  Fiesco  as  a  sham,  not  sent  for  the 
deliverance  of  the  people,  but  for  his  own  private  advantage  and 
purposes  ;  it  was  not  intended  that  Fiesco  should  return  ;  the 
admiral  was  deceiving  them  with  hopes  of  deliverance,  whereas 


$26  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

he  was  not  at  liberty  himself  to  return  to  Hispaniola  or  Spain,  for 
he  had  been  banished  from  Spain,  and  refused  shelter  at  San 
Domingo  even  from  a  storm  ;  and  that  Jamaica,  where  he  was 
content  to  stay,  was  as  good  a  place  of  exile  for  him  as  any 
other.  Fiesco  had  not  returned  because  he  was  so  instructed. 
Why  should  so  many  Spaniards  be  sacrificed  on  account  of  one 
man,  and  he  a  foreigner  ?  Why  should  they  not  attempt  their 
own  deliverance  by  sailing  in  the  Indian  canoes  for  Hispaniola  ? 
Would  they,  not  be  welcomed  the  more  for  leaving  the  hated 
admiral  behind  in  his  exile  ?  Was  not  Ovando  his  enemy,  as 
were  also  Fonseca  and  even  Ferdinand  his  enemies  ?  Morales, 
the  treasurer,  would  favor  their  cause  in  Spain,  as  Fonseca  had 
favored  that  of  Roldan  and  the  rebels  ;  and  had  not  these  re 
ceived  pardon  and  emoluments,  while  Columbus  had  been  de 
prived  of  his  command  and  most  of  his  concessions  ?  The  king 
and  queen  were  at  heart  anxious  to  get  rid  of  him,  and  could 
easily  be  induced  to  strip  of  every  privilege  the  man  they  had 
already  exiled. 

The  mutinous  men  rallied  around  these  unworthy  sowers  of 
sedition  ;  the  only  two  whose  names  are  known  or  who  had  any 
repute  were  Juan  Sanchez,  the  pilot  who  had  by  his  carelessness 
allowed  the  cacique,  the  Quibian,  to  escape  from  his  grasp,  and 
Pedro  Ledesma,  the  sailor  who  had 'swum  ashore  in  the  storm 
at  the  river  Belen  to  obtain  tidings  of  the  unfortunate  colony. 
With  such  leaders  the  mutiny  openly  broke  out,  notwithstanding 
the  kind  and  sympathetic  words  and  assurances  of  the  admiral 
that  relief  would  soon  arrive. 

It  was  on  January  2d,  1504,  as  the  admiral  lay  on  his  couch 
writhing  with  the  pains  of  gout,  that  Francisco  de  Porras  rushed 
into  his  cabin,  with  excited  look  and  violent  voice,  and  scarcely 
could  the  suffering  admiral  lift  himself  on  his  elbows,  when  the 
mutineer  coarsely  exclaimed  :  "  Sir,  why  are  you  unwilling  to 
return  to  Castile,  but  keep  us  all  perishing  here  ?"  Columbus 
possessed  extraordinary  self-control,  and  on  this  occasion  he 
exerted  it  ;  for  though  his  astonishment  could  not  have  been 
greater  if,  as  he  himself  said,  "  the  rays  of  the  sun  should  emit 
darkness,"  he  calmly  and  amiably  assured  the  rebel  that  he,  too, 
was  most  anxious  to  return  to  Castile,  more  so  than  any  other, 
for  his  own  sake  as  well  as  for  the  sake  of  those  whom  God  and 
the  sovereigns  had  entrusted  to  him.  But  what  could  be  done 


ON   COLUMBUS.  527 

until  the  canoe  had  returned  from  Hispaniola  ?  and  as  he  had  so 
often  assembled  tha  captains  and  principal  men  of  the  expedition 
in  council  on  important  occasions,  so  now,  if  Porras  had  any 
proposition  to  make,  he  would  summon  them  in  council  again  to 
consider  it.  To  this  fair  and  considerate  statement  Porras  re 
plied  with  arrogance,  "  There  is  no  use  for  so  many  words,  but 
embark  at  once,  or  stay  in  God's  name  ;"  and  turning  his  back 
upon  the  admiral,  he  said,  "  For  my  part,  1  am  for  Castile  ;  let 
those  who  choose  follow  me."  At  this  concerted  signal  all  the 
conspirators  present,  with  one  voice,  shouted,  "  I  !  I  !  I  !"  and 
springing  up  simultaneously,  they  seized  possession  of  the  fore 
castles  and  cabins.  Some  cried  out,  ' '  To  Castile  !  To  Cas 
tile  !  !"  while  others  shouted,  "  Kill  them  !  Kill  them  !  !" 

At  the  noise  and  bustle  of  this  outbreak,  so  open,  so  violent, 
so  flagrant,  the  admiral  struggled  from  his  couch  to  reach  the 
scene  and  quiet  the  insurgents  by  persuasion,  while  the  Adelan- 
tado,  seizing  his  lance,  rushed  to  the  defence  of  his  brother  and 
his  friends,  whose  lives  were  threatened.  It  was  fortunate  for 
the  whole  community  that  the  more  prudent  and  calmer  officers 
induced  each  to  retire,  while  they  themselves  persuaded  the 
insurgents  to  withdraw  from  the  wrecks.  Seizing  the  ten  canoes 
which  the  admiral  had  purchased,  and  which  were  tied  to  the 
ships,  the  insurgents  and  others  now  joining  them,  moved  at  the 
moment  with  the  alluring  hope  of  reaching  home,  forty-eight  in 
number,  deserted  the  admiral,  and  collecting  hastily  their  effects, 
jumped  into  the  canoes,  elated  with  even  the  phantom  hope  of 
reaching  Castile.  Those  that  remained  were  the  sick  and  a  few 
faithful  and  loyal  friends  of  the  admiral.  Moved  by  the  misfor 
tunes  of  the  former  and  the  fidelity  of  the  latter,  the  admiral  had 
himself  carried  to  the  bedsides  of  the  sick  to  comfort  them,  and 
he  embraced  the  others  with  every  token  of  affection.  He  ap 
pealed  to  all  to  place  their  trust  in  God,  and  assured  them  of  the 
speedy  arrival  of  relief.  He,  the  most  infirm  and  ill  of  all,  visited 
the  sick  every  day.  His  cheering  words  and  his  sedulous  atten 
tions  inspired  the  sick  with  hope  and  courage,  and  finally  re 
stored  all  to  health,  energy,  and  cheerfulness.  It  was  on  such 
occasions  as  this  that  the  admiral's  qualities  shone  in  a  charac 
teristic  light. 

The  insurgents,  led  on  by  the  two  brothers  Porras,  coursed 
with  their  canoes  to  the  east,  following  the  direction  along  the 


528  OLD   AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

shore  taken  by  Mendez  and  Fiesco  ;  arrived  and  landed  at  the 
end  of  the  island  and  commenced  robbing  the  Indians  and  cast 
ing  the  blame  of  their  outrages  on  Columbus,  by  whose  orders 
they  professed  to  act,  referring  their  victims  to  him  for  pay,  and 
telling  them  to  kill  him  if  he  did  not  pay  them,  representing  him 
as  the  worst  enemy  of  the  Indians,  and  that  he  would  enslave  and 
murder  them,  as  he  had  done  with  the  natives  of  other  islands, 
unless  they  should  kill  him  and  save  themselves.  These  mis 
creants,  as  soon  as  the  sea  grew  calmer,  embarked  in  their 
canoes  to  cross  the  sea  to  Hispaniola,  taking  a  number  of  the 
natives  to  work  at  the  oars.  They  were  soon  driven  back  by 
the  boisterous  sea,  having  thrown  all  overboard  except  their 
arms  and  a  few  provisions.  Even  the  poor  Indians  were  forced 
into  the  sea,  and  when  they  swam  back  to  save  themselves  by 
holding  to  the  canoes,  they  were  either  murdered  with  the 
swords  of  the  Spaniards  or  forced  to  relax  their  hold  and  sink  to 
the  bottom.  Eighteen  of  these  miserable  natives  were  thus 
either  murdered  or  drowned,  for  the  best  of  the  swimmers  gave 
out  and  sank. 

Returning  to  the  shore,  these  outlaws  were  divided  as  to  what 
course  to  pursue.  They  robbed  the  Indians  unmercifully,  and 
filled  the  land  with  terrors.  Three  times  they  attempted  to  cross 
the  sea  in  their  canoes,  and  were  each  time  driven  back.  Finally, 
abandoning  all  further  attempts,  they  overran  the  land  with 
rapine  and  outrage.  The  task  of  feeding  the  admiral's  com 
panions  having  become  onerous  to  the  Indians,  the  European 
trinkets  given  in  return  having  lost  their  novelty,  the  desertion 
of  so  many  of  the  admiral's  men,  and  the  malicious  instigations 
of  the  rebels,  resulted  in  the  indifference  or  refusal  of  the  Indians 
to  bring  in  sufficient  food  for  the  Spaniards  at  the  wrecks.  To 
use  force  with  them  was  now  out  of  the  question,  and  starvation 
stared  the  admiral  and  his  friends  in  the  face.  Though  wracked 
with  bodily  pain  and  crushed  with  repeated  misfortunes,  Colum 
bus  on  his  sick-bed  devised  an  ingenious  method  of  inducing  the 
Indians  to  renew  their  supplies — one  characteristic  of  himself,  and 
fortunately  successful.  Remembering  there  would  be  an  eclipse 
of  the  moon  on  the  third  day,  and  knowing  how  the  Indians 
regarded  all  the  phenomena  of  nature  with  superstitious  awe,  he 
availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  by  inviting  the  Indians  to 
assemble  at  a  feast.  He  then  spoke  to  the  assembled  chiefs  and 


ON   COLUMBUS.  529 

natives  of  the  God  of  the  Christians,  of  His  power,  His  friend 
ship  for  good  Christians,  as  manifested  by  His  letting  Mendez 
and  Fiesco  reach  Hispaniola  in  frail  canoes,  and  His  anger 
against  bad  men,  as  manifested  by  His  not  permitting  the  Porras 
brothers  and  their  guilty  followers  to  do  the  same  ;  that  He 
was  angr}',  too,  at  the  Indians  for  refusing  to  bring  provisions 
to  the  good  Spaniards,  as  they  had  promised,  and  would  punish 
them  with  famine  and  pestilence  ;  and  as  proof  of  His  just 
intention  to  punish  them,  He  would  show  them  an  evident  proof 
in  the  heavens,  so  that  they  might  know  that  the  punishment 
came  from  God.  That  this  portentous  sign  would  be  seen  by 
them  all  and  by  all  the  world,  and  consist  in  the  appearance  of 
the  moon  that  night,  which  would  come  forth  angry  and  in 
flamed,  in  proof  of  the  anger  of  God  and  the  truth  of  what  he, 
the  admiral,  now  said  to  them. 

While  some  of  the  Indians  were  moved  to  fear,  others  treated 
the  threat  as  idle  ;  but  when  the  predictions  of  the  admiral  were 
fulfilled  that  night  by  the  eclipse  of  the  moon,  the  Indians  were 
terrified,  and  in  order  to  ward  off  the  anger  of  the  Christians' 
God,  they  ran  in  crowds  to  the  wrecks  loaded  with  provisions, 
begging  the  admiral's  intercession  for  their  pardon,  and  promis 
ing  in  return  to  supply  him  and  his  companions  with  all  the  food 
they  needed.  The  eclipse  was  now  progressing  ;  the  admiral, 
in  answer  to  their  prayers  and  promises,  announced  his  intention 
to  retire  into  his  cabin  and  intercede  with  God  for  them  ;  and 
when  the  eclipse  had  reached  its  greatest  he  reappeared  and 
assured  them  that  God  had  heard  his  prayer,  and  in  proof  of  this 
announced  that  the  moon  would  become  pacified  and  would  set 
aside  all  appearances  of  anger.  Just  then  the  Indians  saw  the 
wane  of  the  eclipse,  as  the  admiral  had  assured  them  it  would 
occur,  and  as  it  gradually  disappeared,  the  Indians  returned 
thanks  to  the  admiral  and  rendered  praise  to  God.  Thenceforth 
they  were  .most  faithful  in  bringing  in  the  supplies  of  food  for 
the  Christians,  whose  chief  thus  had  direct  communication  and 
influence  with  the  God  of  the  universe.* 

While  most  historians  relate  this  anecdote  as  an  evidence  of 


*  "  Hist,  del  Almirante,"  by  Fernando  Columbus,  cap.  104  ;  Mr.  Brownson's  trans 
lation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus."  vol.  ii.,  pp.  305-307  ;  Irving's  "Columbus," 
vol.  ii.,  pp.  396-400. 


530  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

the  clever  and  ever-ready  resources  of  Columbus  in  times  of 
extreme  danger,  the  Count  de  Lorgues  takes  a  more  serious  and 
reverential  yet  rather  extravagant  view  of  the  subject,  as  shown 
by  the  following  paragraph  :  "  In  place  of  aiding  him  with  a 
material  miracle,  as  He  would  have  done  for  a  patriarch  or 
prophet  of  the  old  law,  and  of  sending  him  some  manna  or  some 
quails,  the  Most  High  assisted  him  with  an  idea.  He  succored 
His  servant  with  a  notion  derived  from  the  scientific  order  de 
pendent  on  the  architecture  of  the  heavens.  He  inspired  him 
with  a  means  that  had  never  been  employed  since  the  commence 
ment  of  certain  history,  and  of  which  the  admiral  would  never 
have  thought.  God  reminded  him  that  in  three  days  there  would 
be  an  eclipse  of  the  moon.  Thus  the  moon,  that  sign  by  which 
Diego  Mendez  was  preserved  from  a  horrible  death  from  thirst,. 
was  to  save  Christopher  Columbus  from  famine.  In  his  per 
plexities,  every  time  the  messenger  of  the  Cross  went  to  pray, 
the  idea  of  the  eclipse  came  into  his  mind.  Columbus  inferred 
from  this  circumstance  that  he  must  derive  his  safety  from  the 
eclipse.  God  simply  indicated  to  him  the  subject  ;  his  genius 
furnished  him  with  the  mode  of  rendering  it  efficacious."  And 
Father  Knight  says,  while  inclining  to  support  the  count's  views, 
that  ' '  those  who  feel  sure  that  Columbus  a  short  time  before 
mistook  a  flight  of  delirious  fancy  for  a  vision  sent  by  God,  might 
save  him  from  the  charge  of  impiety  by  consistently  supposing 
that  on  this  occasion  he  mistook  a  '  happy  thought '  for  a  divine 
inspiration.  Perhaps  the  poor  natives  were  under  no  great  delu 
sion  after  all,  when  they  drew  the  inference  that  the  prayers  of 
the  persecuted  just  man  were  powerful  with  God."f  Other 
historians  regard  the  affair  as  purely  the  result  of  a  clever  device 
of  the  ever-ingenious  mind  of  Columbus  in  times  of  necessity. 

The  contrasts  presented  by  history  are  more  remarkable  and 
extreme  than  the  finest  drawn  scenes  of  fiction.  While  Colum 
bus  was  now  venerated  by  the  Indians  as  one  holding  communi 
cation  with  Heaven  and  controlling  the  very  luminaries  of  the 
skies,  his  heart  was  racked  with  the  most  painful  anxieties  for 
the  safety  and  return  of  the  messenger  sent  to  Hispaniola  for 


*  Dr.  Barry's  translation   of  the  Count  de  Lorgues'  "  Life  of    Columbus,"  vol.  H., 
pp.  501,  502. 

f  Rev.  Arthur  George  Knight's  "Life  of  Columbus,"  p.  215. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  53! 

relief.  The  long  expectations  and  delays  had  now  again  brought 
discontent  among  his  remaining  companions,  and  endangered 
the  very  life  of  the  man  so  powerful  with  God  at  the  hands  of  his 
own  followers.  The  growing  despair  of  the  Spaniards  at  the 
failure  of  Fiesco  to  return  was  now  intensified  and  full,  in  conse 
quence  of  reports  brought  in  by  the  Indians  of  a  wrecked  vessel 
so  near  Jamaica  that  fragments  of  the  wreck  had  floated  to  the 
shore.  All  concluded  that  this  was  the  vessel  sen-t  by  Ovando 
to  take  the  Spaniards  from  their  wrecks  to  a  place  of  safety  and 
to  their  homes.  Although  it  subsequently  turned  out  that  these 
reports  of  floating  fragments  coming  ashore  were  maliciously 
invented  by  the  rebels  under  Porras,  the  effect  of  the  fraud 
had  nearly  proved  fatal  to  their  chief  and  their  countrymen, 
whom  they  had  so  disloyally  abandoned  and  defied.  So  disas 
trous  were  these  reports  and  the  disappointment  at  Fiesco's 
failure  to  return,  that  all  hope  of  relief  died  in  their  hearts,  and 
the  Spaniards  in  their  despair  cast  the  blame  for  their  misfortunes 
upon  the  admiral,  entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  take  his  life,  and 
by  seizing  other  canoes  lately  obtained  from  the  Indians,  to 
attempt  the  passage  to  Hispaniola.  This  second  conspiracy  was 
headed  by  Valencia,  the  apothecary,  supported  by  Alonzo  de 
Zamora,  an  esquire,  and  Pedro  de  Villatoro.  Just  as  the  con 
spiracy  was  about  to  break  out  and  carry  its  criminal  purposes 
into  effect,  Providence  came  to  the  relief  of  the  admiral  and  his 
companions. 

It  was  at  night,  and  the  conspirators  were  about  to  commit 
the  worst  of  crimes,  when  a  little  sail  was  seen  at  sea  toward  the 
northeast  ;  but  it  soon  approached,  and  though  standing  off,  sent 
its  boat  to  the  wrecks  on  the  strand.  All  the  Spaniards  hailed 
the  apparition  with  joy  ;  the  hour  of  deliverance  was  at  hand. 
As  the  boat  approached,  rejoiced  as  all  were  to  see  the  faces  of 
Christians  turned  to  them  from  the  ocean,  the  appearance  on 
board  of  Diego  de  Escobar,  one  of  Roldan's  most  hardened 
rebels,  a  man  who  had  been  condemned  to  death  during  the 
admiral's  administration  and  pardoned  by  Bobadilla,  checked 
their  hopes.  Having  delivered  to  the  admiral  a  letter  from 
Ovando,  the  governor  of  Hispaniola,  together  with  a  barrel  of 
wine  and  a  side  of  bacon  sent  by  Ovando  as  presents,  he  drew 
off  and  talked  with  the  admiral  from  a  distance.  He  told  the 
admiral  that  Ovando  expressed  great  concern  for  his  misfortunes, 


532  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

and  regret  at  not  having  in  port  a  ship  of  sufficient  size  to  re 
ceive  him  and  his  people,  but  that  he  would  send  one  as  soon  as 
possible,  and  assured  the  admiral  that  his  affairs  in  Hispaniola 
were  receiving  proper  attention.  Escobar  offered  to  carry  back 
any  letter  Columbus  might  wish  to  send  to  Ovando. 

Though  stunned  at  the  strange  character  of  this  cold  and  un 
sympathetic  mission,  and  chagrined  at  the  meagre  relief  brought 
to  relieve  even  the  hunger  of  famishing  countrymen  stranded 
on  a  wild  shore,  Columbus  immediately  wrote  to  Ovando  and 
described  his  forlorn  situation,  the  rebellion  of  Porras,  and  ex 
pressed  his  trust  in  the  promise  of  speedy  relief.  He  recom 
mended  Mendez  and  Fiesco  to  the  confidence  of  the  governor. 
Having  received  the  admiral's  letter,  Escobar  speedily  returned 
to  his  ship,  and  the  men's  hopes  of  relief  vanished  with  the  ship's 
disappearance  in  the  sea  and  the  return  of  the  darkness  of  night. 
The  admiral  did  all  in  his  power  to  dispel  the  inevitable  and 
obvious  gloom  among  his  people,  assuring  them  that  he  was 
quite  satisfied  with  the  interview  with  Escobar,  and  had  urged 
his  speedy  return  to  Hispaniola  in  order  to  expedite  the  vessel 
which  was  to  be  sent  to  their  relief  ;  and  he  added  that  he  had 
himself  declined  to  sail  back  to  Hispaniola  with  Escobar,  pre 
ferring  to  share  the  fortunes  of  his  men.  When  the  Spaniards 
saw  the  bright  countenance  and  heard  the  firm  voice  of  the 
admiral,  giving  these  assurances,  confidence  was  restored  and 
the  mutiny  dissolved. 

Calm  and  assured  as  was  the  countenance  of  Columbus  in  this 
heart-rending  endeavor  to  give  hope  to  his  companions,  he  felt 
within  his  heart  a  storm  of  just  indignation  at  the  meanness  of 
Ovando.  Had  not  the  governor  received  at  the  hands  of  the 
brave  and  faithful  Mendez  the  letter  written  in  his  own  hand, 
conveying  the  information  of  his  desperate  condition  and  of  the 
danger  he  and  his  men  were  in  from  famine,  the  treachery  of 
Spanish  rebels,  or  from  hostile  natives  ?  That  a  Spanish  governor 
should  rest  with  cool  indifference  at  so  short  a  distance  when  his 
countrymen  were  in  such  peril,  and  when  the  very  man  who  had 
revealed  the  new  world  to  Spain  was  almost  in  the  jaws  of  death 
on  a  savage  shore,  where  he  had  suffered  and  waited  in  his  suffer 
ings  for  eight  months,  was  something  unworthy  of  savages,  and 
yet  we  see  it  in  this  case  practised  by  a  Christian  toward  Chris 
tians,  by  a  Spaniard  toward  Spaniards.  With  ample  means  at 


ON  COLUMBUS.  533 

his  disposal,  he  sends  the  unfortunate  admiral  a  condemned  crim 
inal  with  empty  messages.  With  well-filled  storehouses  he  sends 
to  a  hundred  and  thirty  starving  men  a  little  wine  and  a  morsel 
of  bacon.  With  ships  at  his  disposal,  he  sends  to  the  shipwrecked 
colony  the  promise  of  a  ship.  The  mind  of  Columbus  was  clear 
in  its  judgment  of  Ovando's  unworthy  conduct.  Knowing  from 
the  admiral's  letter  delivered  by  Mendez  of  the  desperate  situa 
tion  of  the  admiral,  Ovando  had  sent  not  even  a  friendly  mes 
senger  to  devise  the  means  or  obtain  information  to  be  used  for 
his  relief,  but  a  spy  who,  like  himself,  would  have  rejoiced  at 
finding  Columbus  and  all  his  men  starved  to  death  or  murdered 
by  the  Indians.  If  Columbus  should  return  to  Spain,  the  gran 
deur  of  his  recent  discoveries  would  restore  his  fortunes  and 
secure  his  return  to  the  administration.  Ovando  did  not  desire 
such  results.  Plainly  expressed  as  this  view  is  in  the  writings 
of  the  admiral's  son,  inspired  no  doubt  by  himself,  the  venerable 
Bishop  Las  Casas  adopts  the  same  opinion.* 

While  some  efforts  have  been  made  to  excuse  the  unworthy 
conduct  of  Ovando  toward  Columbus,  based  upon  supposed 
prudential  considerations  connected  with  the  governor's  adminis 
tration  at  San  Domingo,  or  the  absurd  rumor  that  Columbus, 
disgusted  with  his  treatment  by  Spain,  was  desirous  of  trans 
ferring  the  countries  he  had  discovered  either  to  his  native 
Genoa  or  some  other  country,  or  upon  some  other  equally  un 
real  pretext,  the  strength  of  reasoning — nay,  the  whole  weight 
of  the  evidences  and  arguments — is  adverse  to  the  conduct  of 
Ovando.  Had  his  motives  been  honest  or  honorable,  his  excuses 
true,  he  would  not  have  sent  as  his  messenger  to  Columbus  the 
disgraced  and  condemned  Escobar,  who  was  his  enemy.  He 
would  not  have  pointedly  insulted  Columbus  while  uttering 
empty  words  of  sympathy  for  his  misfortunes. 

The  voyage  of  Mendez  and  Fiesco  from  Jamaica  to  Hispaniola 
was  a  test  of  human  endurance,  courage,  and  perseverance 
scarcely  if  at  all  equalled  or  surpassed  by  any  similar  feat  in 
history  or  fiction.  Sailing  all  the  first  day  over  a  calm  sea  with 
out  wind,  the  heat  of  the  sun  and  the  labor  at  the  oars  exhausted 
the  poor  Indians  ;  plunges  into  the  sea  relieved  the  sufferings  of 


*  "  Hist,  del  Almirante,"  Fernando  Columbus,  cap.  civ.  ;  Las  Casas,  lib.  ii.,  cap. 
xxxii. 


534  °LD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

the  oarsmen  ;  even  at  night  the  oarsmen  never  rested.  The  Span 
iards  kept  the  watch  with  weapons  in  hand  to  guard  against 
treachery  or  attack  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  at  the  oars.  The 
sun  arose  from  a  night  of  toil  as  sultry  as  the  day.  To  the  ex 
haustion  of  labor  was  added  the  sufferings  of  thirst,  for  such  was 
the  heat  that  the  Indians  had  resorted  to  the  supply  of  water  so 
eagerly  that  none  was  left.  At  noon  on  the  second  day  the  oars 
men,  courage  and  strength  exhausted,  could  not  hold  their  oars, 
when  Mendez  and  Fiesco  found  two  casks  of  water,  which  they 
had  prudently  pretended  were  overlooked,  and,  with  this  doled 
out  more  for  moistening  the  lips  than  for  drinking,  they  suc 
ceeded  in  rowing  another  day.  The  night  came  before  land  was 
sighted,  and  the  night  was  spent  in  labor,  watching,  thirst,  discour 
agement,  and  agonies  of  mind  and  body.  The  Indians  resorted 
to  salt  water  to  refresh  their  burning  palates,  but  this  transient 
relief  was  followed  with  greater  suffering.  The  strain  upon  the 
eyes  and  nerves,  from  constant  gazing  toward  the  horizon  for 
land,  added  to  their  agonies.  One  Indian  died  of  exhaustion  and 
thirst.  Another  night  was  spent  in  increased  and  increasing 
sufferings.  The  strong-hearted  Mendez  was  on  the  verge  of 
despair,  when  standing  up  at  dusk  in  his  canoe  and  straining  his 
eyes  to  their  utmost  power,  he  dimly  saw  and  exultingly  ex 
claimed,  "  Land  !  Land  !"  Another  night  at  the  oars,  but  now 
at  least  with  hope,  the  dying  seemed  revived  sufficiently  to  row  ; 
at  daybreak  they  reached  the  land  and  sprang  ashore  with 
ardent  thanks  to  God  for  saving  them  from  imminent  and  cruel 
death.  They  had  landed  on  Navasa,  a  mere  mass  of  rocks,  and 
here  they  obtained  rain  water  from  hollows  in  the  rocks,  fish  from 
the  sea,  which  they  cooked,  and  rest.  In  the  cool  of  the  evening 
they  rowed  with  renewed  energy  and  strength,  and  after  another 
night  at  the  oars  they  reached  next  morning  Cape  Tiburon,  the 
nearest  point  of  Hispaniola.  This  was  the  fourth  day  after  leav 
ing  Jamaica.  The  first  great  peril  at  least  was  now  passed. 
Heroic  as  was  this  achievement,  what  shall  be  said  to  adequately 
commemorate  the  grandeur  of  Fiesco's  fidelity,  when  he  pro 
posed  to  return  in  his  canoe  to  relieve  the  anxious  mind  of  the 
admiral  ?  But  so  intense  had  been  the  sufferings  of  the  Spaniards 
and  Indians,  that  none  were  willing  to  return  with  him  in  the 
canoe.  Mendez,  with  a  valor  not  surpassed  in  the  most  heroic 
lands  and  ages,  rested  not,  either  from  oar  or  foot,  until  he  had 


ON   COLUMBUS.  535 

found  Ovando,  then  at  Xaragua,  and  delivered  to  him  the  letter 
of  the  admiral.  Tarducci  characterizes  this  chivalrous  adven 
ture  as  ' '  one  of  the  most  perilous  expeditions  ever  undertaken 
by  a  devoted  follower  for  the  safety  of  his  commander." 

In  contrast  with  the  exalted  and  self-sacrificing  act  of  Mendez 
in  risking  his  own  life  for  that  of  his  commander  and  companions, 
stands  forth  the  selfish,  insincere,  and  heartless  conduct  of 
Ovando.  His  sordid  actions  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  motives  of 
Ovando  in  his  refusal  to  Columbus  of  permission  to  take  shelter 
.at  San  Domingo  from  the  storm,  and  in  now  doing  nothing 
worthy  of  the  name  for  his  relief  in  such  a  peril.  Receiving 
Mendez  with  great  kindness  and  with  expressions  of  great  con 
cern  for  the  admiral's  misfortunes,  he  made  every  promise,  but 
he  did  not  fulfil  any.  Days,  weeks,  and  even  months  elapsed, 
and  Mendez  kept  insisting  all  the  time.  Excuses  and  pretexts 
were  substituted  for  fulfilment.  Mendez  asked  permission  to  go 
to  San  Domingo,  and  out  of  the  admiral's  revenues  there  to 
make  provision  for  his  safety  at  his  own  expense.  Not  only  did 
he  refuse  this  permission,  but  insinuations  that  the  shipwreck  of 
Columbus  was  fraudulently  contrived  to  give  him  an  excuse  for 
getting  into  San  Domingo,  and  making  a  move  for  overturning 
Ovando's  administration  and  seizing  the  reins  for  himself,  were 
most  mendaciously  put  out.  It  is  more  justly  suspected  that 
Ovando  waited  and  procrastinated 'in  the  daily  hope  that  Colum 
bus  might  perish  from  hunger  or  rebel's  sword  or  Indian's  lance. 
The  arduous  efforts  of  Mendez  to  do  something  for  the  admiral's 
deliverance  were  little  successful,  but  rather  thwarted  by  the 
meanness  of  sending  a  message  instead  of  a  ship,  a  little  wine  and 
pork  for  feeding  one  hundred  and  thirty  men,  and  selecting  an 
avowed  enemy  of  the  admiral  on  this  cruel  mission. 

Columbus,  on  the  other  hand,  generously  trusted  Ovando's 
promises  of  relief,  as  expressed  by  Escobar.  He  sent  to  the 
rebels  a  paternal  message  of  his  intention  to  carry  them  with 
him  to  a  place  of  safety  when  Ovando  should  send  a  ship,  as  he 
hoped  he  would,  and  he  even  divided  with  them  the  scanty 
measure  of  wine  and  bacon  sent  to  him  by  Ovando.  He  prom 
ised  them  pardon  if  they  would  return  to  the  wrecks,  and  an 
equal  participation  with  the  loyal  ones  if  they  would  return  to 
their  allegiance.  In  return  for  these  generous  offers  Porras 
returned  the  most  insolent  demands,  and,  on  their  rejection  by 


536  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

him,  fearing  that  his  men  would  desert  him  in  the  hope  of  secur 
ing  through  the  admiral  a  safe  return  to  Spain,  he  threatened 
the  admiral  with  violence.  He  told  his  men  that  these  pretended 
offers  were  seductive  baits  intended  to  allure  them  into  the 
admiral's  power  ;  that  the  story  of  the  ship  of  Escobar  was  an 
invention  of  the  admiral  to  deceive  them  ;  and,  relying  on  the 
superstitious  dread  entertained  of  his  knowledge  of  the  elements 
and  his  power  as  a  sorcerer,  the  ship  of  Escobar  was  represented 
as  a  mere  phantom  ship  conjured  up  by  the  admiral's  mystic 
power  in  the  dark  sciences.  By  his  insidious  falsehoods  and 
specious  eloquence  and  appeals,  he  rallied  the  rebels  and  led 
them  toward  the  wrecks  to  seize  the  barracks  and  make  a  prisoner 
of  the  admiral.  The  latter  on  his  bed  of  sickness  got  informa 
tion  of  their  cowardly  movement  only  when  they  had  reached 
the  village  of  Maima,  a  quarter  of  a  league  off ;  and  being  him 
self  unable  to  move,  he  sent  the  Adelantado  with  fifty  men — 
armed,  it  is  true,  but  recently  invalids,  and  even  yet  pale,  weak, 
and  emaciated — as  ambassadors  of  peace.  The  offers  of  peace 
and  invitations  to  a  conference  were  insolently  rejected,  and  the 
rebels,  at  the  instigation  of  Porras  and  under  his  leadership, 
made  a  sudden  and  treacherous  rush  upon  the  Adelantado  and 
his  men,  hoping  by  a  preconcerted  plan  to  kill  the  Adelantado 
first,  and  thus,  having  taken  the  soul  out  of  this  band  of  sickly 
and  emaciated  soldiers,  to  easily  vanquish  the  men  and  march 
upon  and  seize  the  admiral  in  his  bed.  Their  battle-cry,  thus 
suddenly  raised,  was  "  Slay  !  Slay  !"  In  the  assault  six  picked 
men,  led  by  Francisco  Porras,  rushed  at  the  Adelantado  at  the 
first  onslaught,  intending  to  dispatch  him.  That  bold  and  fear 
less  hero  met  the  assault  with  characteristic  coolness  and  valor, 
and  not  only  made  good  his  defence,  but  had  in  the  thickest  of 
the  fray  killed  or  wounded  several  of  his  personal  assailants, 
when  Francisco  Porras  rushed  upon  him,  and  the  sword  intended 
for  Don  Bartholomew's  heart  was  met  with  his  shield,  which  it 
clove  in  two,  and  wounded  the  hand  that  carried  it.  Before 
Porras  could  withdraw  his  sword  from  the  Adelantado's  shield, 
the  latter  was  upon  him,  grappling  him,  and  finally,  after  a 
desperate  struggle,  with  the  assistance  of  others  took  him  pris 
oner.  Inspired  by  the  undaunted  conduct  and  personal  courage 
of  the  Adelantado,  his  enfeebled  followers  did  well  their  part, 
and  proved  themselves  more  than  the  mere  fancy  soldiers  Porras 


ON  COLUMBUS.  537 

had  represented  them.  Seeing  their  chief  a  prisoner  in  the 
Adelantado's  hands,  the  rebels  fled  before  the  men  they  had  so 
much  despised  as  convalescent  patients  of  the  wrecks.  The 
Adelantado,  who  at  first  desired  to  follow  up  his  victory,  was 
persuaded  by  his  officers  that  it  was  more  prudent  to  allow  them 
to  escape  immediate  punishment  and  pursuit,  as  an  attack  from 
the  Indians,  whom  Porras  had  disaffected,  was  greatly  to  be 
avoided  ;  for,  in  fact,  the  Indians  in  numbers,  and  with  their 
arms,  were  silent  spectators  of  this  disgraceful  struggle  between 
Spaniards  and  Christians. 

Returning  in  triumph  to  the  wrecks  with  Francisco  Porras 
and  the  other  prisoners,  the  Adelantado  and  his  victorious  com 
panions  were  received  with  great  joy  by  the  admiral,  and  all 
united  with  the  latter  in  returning  their  grateful  thanks  to  God. 
On  the  field  of  this  unworthy  battle  lay  some  of  the  most  power 
ful  and  undaunted  men  that  a  life  of  active  adventure  and  an  age 
of  war  could  produce,  either  killed  or  wounded.  It  was  a  com 
mentary  on  our  civilization,  when  the  Indians  immediately  after 
the  struggle  visited  the  scene,  and  from  curiosity  examined  the 
wounds  inflicted  on  the  bodies  of  the  slain  with  the  arms  used 
by  the  Christians.  It  was,  no  doubt,  a  double  study  to  them  : 
first,  the  manner  in  which  the  most  skilfully  manufactured  arms 
in  Europe  were  made,  and  how  they  could  be  used  ;  and,  sec 
ondly,  how  well  and  effectively  the  Christians  knew  how  to 
slaughter  each  other.  In  their  deeply  interesting  investigation 
they  came  upon  a  figure  of  gigantic  size  and  herculean  strength, 
which  had  fallen  into  a  ditch,  literally  covered  with  wounds  :  his 
skull  was  split  open,  so  as  to  expose  the  brain  ;  a  second  wound 
in  the  arm  left  that  member  hanging  and  nearly  cut  off  ;  a  third 
wound  was  in  the  side,  showing  the  ribs  cut  asunder  ;  a  fourth 
opened  the  foot  from  heel  to  toe,  and  had  the  appearance  of 
a  sandal  on  the  foot  ;  and  though  any  one  of  them  seemed  enough 
to  have  caused  the  death  of  even  such  a  man,  other  lesser  wounds 
seemed  to  have  left  him  a  disfigured  mass.  With  stoical  yet 
eager  curiosity  the  Indians  turned  his  mangled  and  apparently 
dead  body  over  and  over,  and  opened  the  wounds  anew  in  order 
to  see  how  the  European  weapons  could  cut.  Suddenly  from  the 
lacerated  body  proceeded  a  voice  of  thunder,  saying,  "  Let  me 
be  !  If  I  get  up,  I  will—  Such  was  the  effect  of  this  stentorian 
and  threatening  voice,  proceeding  from  the  supposed  corpse  of 


538  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

the  dead  soldier,  that  the  Indians  fled  in  dismay,  believing 
themselves  followed  and  chased  by  all  the  dead  bodies  on  the 
field.  They  had  supposed  the  Spaniards  to  be  immortal  and  not 
subject  to  death,  and  now,  having  seen  the  field  was  strewn  with 
the  dead,  they  again  believed  the  dead  returning  to  life  ;  but, 
alas  !  experience  had  dispelled  all  their  delusions.  The  hero 
of  this  adventure  was  no  other  than  Pedro  Ledesma,  the  same 
that  had  braved  the  fury  of  the  storm  and  the  danger  of  the 
rocks  at  Veragua,  in  order  to  obtain  information  for  the  admiral 
as  to  the  fate  of  his  brother  and  companions  on  shore.  Learning 
thus  from  the  Indians  of  the  survival  of  Ledesma,  who  was  sup 
posed  to  have  been  killed,  the  Spaniards  from  the  wrecks  took 
him  from  the  field  to  a  near-by  thatched  cottage  and  dressed  his 
wounds  with  oil,  as  they  had  no  medicines  ;  and  though,  as  Fer 
nando  Columbus  says,  "  the  insects  and  dampness  of  the  cottage 
were  enough  to  finish  him,"  he  recovered  and  returned  to  Spain. 
Las  Casas,  the  venerable  bishop  and  historian,  afterward  saw 
and  conversed  with  this  unconquerable  soldier,  and  received 
from  him  an  account  of  the  battle.  Tarducci  relates  that  "  this 
singular  man  was  afterward  killed  in  Seville  by  the  dagger  of  an 
assassin."  * 

The  Adelantado  and  Pedro  Terreros  were  the  only  two 
wounded  among  the  loyal  Spaniards,  and  the  latter  died  of  his 
wound  a  few  days  afterward,  greatly  regretted.  This  singular 
battle  between  Christians  in  the  wilderness  of  America  within  a 
few  years  after  its  discovery,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  savages, 
occurred  on  the  very  day  of  religious  rest  and  prayer,  Sunday, 
May  igth,  1503.  It  had  the  effect,  however,  of  making  loyal 
Spaniards  of  the  rebels.  The  next  day  the  fugitive  rebels  sent 
their  unanimous  and  humble  petition  to  the  admiral,  begging  for 
his  mercy  and  pardon,  assuring  him  of  their  repentance  and  de 
sire  to  return  to  their  duty,  and  filled  with  ample  promises  of 
future  good  conduct.  In  this  singular  document  they  swore  by 
the  Cross  and  the  gospel  that  they  were  sincere,  and  "  they 
hoped,  if  they  broke  their  oath,  that  no  priest  or  Christian  should 
ever  confess  them  ;  that  no  penance  should  help  them  ;  that  they 
should  be  deprived  of  the  Church's  sacraments  ;  that  their  souls, 
after  death,  should  receive  no  relief  from  bulls  or  indulgences  ; 


*  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  321. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  539 

that,  instead  of  being  buried  in  consecrated  ground,  their  bodies 
should  be  thrown  in  the  open  field,  like  those  of  renegades  and 
heretics  ;  and  that  no  pope,  cardinal,  archbishop,  bishop,  or 
Christian  priest  should  give  them  absolution."  *  While  Mr. 
Irving  says,  in  reference  to  this  overflowing  manifestation  of 
repentance,  that  "  the  worthlessness  of  a  man's  word  may  always 
be  known  by  the  extravagant  means  he  uses  to  enforce  it,"  the 
admiral,  trusting  to  the  utter  abjectness  of  these  now  repentant 
rebels,  but  moved  chiefly  by  his  own  accustomed  magnanimit}r, 
granted  their  prayer.  Francisco  Porras,  however,  was  to  re 
main  a  prisoner. 

Columbus,  though  already  well  strained  to  provide  food  for 
his  loyal  companions,  now  found  it  no  small  undertaking  to  feed 
his  community,  now  swelled  in  numbers  by  the  return  of  the 
rebels.  His  generosity,  however,  knew  no  distinction,  and  his 
discreet  judgment  set  a  value  upon  the  union  of  his  followers 
above  all  other  considerations.  Confining  his  prisoner,  Francisco 
Porras,  on  one  of  the  wrecks,  he  placed  the  late  rebels  under  the 
command  of  a  discreet  and  loyal  officer,  and  cantoned  them  on 
the  island  in  order  to  avoid  too  great  crowding  of  the  wrecks, 
and  in  order  to  lessen  the  danger  of  fresh  quarrels,  where  so 
many  were  crowded  together  in  such  contracted  quarters.  Sup 
plying  the  officer  in  command  of  the  late  insurgents  with  Euro 
pean  articles  to  barter  with  the  Indians  in  exchange  for  food, 
they  were  directed  to  look  for  food  in  this  way. 

The  untiring  efforts  of  the  faithful  Diego  Mendez  at  San 
Domingo  finally  succeeded  in  securing  a  ship  for  the  deliver 
ance  of  the  admiral  ;  but  in  the  absence  of  all  attempts  to  this 
•end  by  the  unworthy  and  selfish  Ovando,  the  ship  was  purchased 
and  equipped  at  the  admiral's  own  expense.  Such  was  the  in 
dignation  in  Hispaniola  against  Ovando  for  his  open  and  undis 
guised  abandonment  of  the  discoverer  of  America  to  his  terrible 
fate — a  feeling  which  found  expression  from  the  pulpits  and  in 
public  prayers  announced  for  the  safety  of  the  admiral  and  his 
men — that  Ovando,  when  he  saw  that  Mendez  had  fitted  out  a 
ship,  also  now  found  it  at  last  in  his  power  to  do  the  same.  He 


*  Las  Casas,  "Hist.  Ind.,"  lib,  ii.,  cap.  xxv.  ;  "Hist,  del  Almirante,"  Fernando 
Columbo,  cap.  cvii.  ;  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  420;  Dr.  Barry's  translation 
of  De  Lorgues'  "Columbus,"  p.  508  ;  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life 
of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  322. 


54Q  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

selected  and  equipped  a  second  ship,  and  placed  it  under  the 
command  of  Diego  de  Salcedo,  to  whom  Mendez  had  confided 
the  first  ship,  a  true  friend  of  Columbus  and  his  agent  at  San 
Domingo.  But  before  relating  the  facts  connected  with  the 
deliverance  of  Columbus  and  his  companions  from  their  long 
and  cruel  exile  on  the  savage  coast  of  Jamaica,  I  will  briefly 
relate  the  history  of  Ovando's  administration  in  Hispaniola — an 
administration  as  damaging  to  his  character  and  record  in  his 
tory  as  is  his  mean  and  ungenerous  treatment  of  Columbus  in 
his  misfortunes. 

While  Columbus,  in  making  up  his  third  voyage,  had  been 
compelled  to  take  with  him  the  convicts  and  criminals  of  Spain, 
on  account  of  the  disgust  created  in  the  public  mind  at  seeing  so 
many  sick  and  disappointed  people  returning  from  the  new 
world,  now  under  Ovando  the  tide  was  reversed,  and  thou 
sands  eagerly  sought  for  permission  to  go.  The  craze  for  gold 
carried  hosts  of  adventurers  thither,  and  no  sooner  had  the  ves 
sels  landed  at  San  Domingo  than  the  roads  leading  to  the  mines 
were  crowded  with  gold-seekers,  speculators,  dreamers,  spend 
thrifts,  and  adventurers  seeking  to  repair  their  broken  fortunes. 
The  scene  resembled  the  rush  for  the  California  mines  in  our 
own  times  and  country,  when  the  gold  of  California  crazed  our 
own  people.  While  hidalgos  had  refused  to  work  under  Colum 
bus  on  the  public  works  and  for  the  general  safety,  now  these 
gentlemen  traveled  on  foot,  with  a  pack  containing  biscuit  and 
miner's  tools  on  their  backs,  from  San  Domingo  to  the  mines, 
jostling  each  other  and  the  humblest  members  of  society,  and 
crowding  the  road  in  company  with  people  of  every  class. 
Stunned,  on  arriving  at  their  Eldorado,  on  finding  that  it  was 
necessary  to  dig  and  toil  to  reach  Nature's  treasures,  which  she 
had  so  guarded  as  to  render  them  worth  laboring  for  if  worth 
acquiring,  a  terrible  reaction  soon  came,  and  the  miners  found 
their  provisions  consumed,  themselves  exhausted  with  toil  and 
hunger,  and  many  were  so  impoverished  that  they  were  com 
pelled  to  sell  the  clothes  on  their  backs  in  order  to  get  some 
thing  to  eat.  The  road  over  which  the  most  brilliant  hopes  had 
lately  hurried  them  was  now  crowded  with  a  reversed  cur 
rent  of  sick,  disappointed,  hungry,  dusty,  ragged,  fainting,  and 
dejected  adventurers.  Employment  on  farms  by  old  settlers 
relieved  some,  charity  relieved  others,  while  many  more  died  of 


ON   COLUMBUS.  541 

consumption,   fevers,   and  various  diseases  to  the  number  of  a 
thousand  and  more. 

Ovando,  while  he  is  not  recorded  as  having  warned  his  col 
onists  against  such  evils,  as  he  should  have  done,  was  generally 
regarded  in  his  time  as  a  prudent  and  capable  governor  for  the 
Spaniards  ;  but  to  the  poor  and  innocent  natives  his  administra 
tion  was  an  exterminating  scourge.  Columbus  when  in  power, 
driven  by  the  powerless  condition  in  which  the  home  govern 
ment  had  left  him  in  Hispaniola,  had  given  lands  to  Roldan's 
rebels  in  1499,  and  had  arranged  with  the  caciques  for  sending 
a  certain  number  of  their  subjects  to  work  upon  the  lands  in 
commutation  for  tribute — an  arrangement  which,  as  the  tribute 
was  an  inevitable  result  of  Spanish  rule,  is  generally  regarded 
by  historians  as  involving  no  hardship  on  the  natives,  if  carried 
into  effect  with  justice  and  fairness,  and  as  well  calculated  to 
accustom  the  natives  gradually  to  labor  and  to  lead  to  the  gen 
eral  cultivation  of  the  land.  Ovando,  however,  followed  up 
most  unjustly  the  unwise  and  oppressive  system  of  repartimientos 
which  Bobadilla  had  introduced,  whereby  that  special  agree 
ment  of  Columbus  was  developed  into  a  governmental  system, 
and  the  caciques  were  compelled  to  assign  a  certain  number  of 
Indians  to  every  Spaniard  to  work  upon  the  mines,  and  in  the 
end  all  the  natives  were  divided  into  classes  and  distributed 
among  the  farmers.  No  system  of  human  slavery  could  be  more 
complete  than  this.  Indeed,  Ovando,  instead  of  restoring  liberty 
to  the  natives,  as  commanded  by  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  and 
using  every  effort  by  gentleness  and  justice  to  win  them  to  Chris 
tianity,  availed  himself  of  a  clause  in  the  royal  instructions  by 
which  he  was  permitted  to  impose  moderate  work  on  the  natives 
for  their  own  good,  in  order  and  with  the  effect  of  completely 
enslaving  them,  free  men  by  nature,  to  their  Spanish  masters. 
Instead  of  protecting  them  in  the  moderation  of  the  tasks  im 
posed  on  them,  he  allotted  to  every  Spaniard  a  certain  number 
of  Indians,  according  to  his  rank  or  his  own  caprice,  and  the 
caciques  were  compelled  to  furnish  them.  While  nominally 
providing  for  their  being  paid  and  instructed  in  the  Christian 
religion,  the  former  was  a  deception,  and  the  latter  was  limited 
to  the  bestowal  of  baptism  upon  a  miserable  and  abused  race, 
who  had  never  seen  or  experienced  the  benign  principles  of 
Christianity  practised  by  their  Christian  masters. 


542  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

The  cruelty  practised  on  the  Indians  by  the  Spaniards  under 
this  system  was  most  brutal.  The  venerable  Bishop  Las  Casas, 
himself  a  Spaniard  and  an  eye-witness  of  what  he  relates,  saw 
the  Indians. constantly  sent  on  long  and  painful  journeys  to  work, 
separated  for  days  from  their  wives  and  children,  driven  with 
the  lash  most  inhumanly  to  get  up  and  resume  work  whenever 
they  fell  or  sat  down  to  rest,  and  treated  generally  worse  than 
beasts  of  burden.  Cassava  bread,  which  might  suffice  for  the 
life  of  ease  and  indolence  they  formerly  led,  was  not  enough  to 
sustain  their  present  life  of  toil,  travel,  and  hardship,  and  occa 
sionally  a  morsel  of  bacon  was  added  in  such  mean  measure  as 
to  suggest  its  want  rather  than  its  enjoyment.  The  bishop 
actually  relates  that  he  saw  the  Spanish  overseers  at  their  com 
fortable  meals,  while  the  exhausted  and  famishing  Indians 
crouched  like  dogs  under  the  tables,  and  scrambled  eagerly  for 
the  smallest  bone  that  fell  to  the  ground  ;  and  when  a  morsel  of 
bone  was  thus  obtained,  the  poor  Indians  would  gnaw  it,  suck 
it,  and  finally,  when  they  could  get  nothing  more  from  it  by 
gnawing  or  sucking,  they  would  grind  it  between  stones  and 
spread  the  savory  but  miserable  bone  dust  on  their  cassava 
bread.  Field  laborers  never  received  flesh  or  fish  to  eat,  but 
were  confined  to  cassava  bread.  While  thus  half-starved  they 
were  worked  most  inhumanly,  and  such  as  fled  to  the  mountains 
for  freedom  and  to  escape  inevitable  death  were  hunted  like 
beasts,  punished  most  cruelly,  and  ironed  to  prevent  a  second 
escape.  Many  died  before  their  terms  of  labor  expired,  usually 
six  or  eight  months  in  the  year  ;  others  expired  on  the  roads  re 
turning  to  their  homes,  some  forty,  sixty,  or  eighty  leagues  off. 
Las  Casas  saw  many  dead  or  expiring  on  the  roads,  and  the 
latter,  when  approached  by  him,  could  only  say  faintly,  "  I  am 
hungry  !  I  am  hungry  !"  Their  own  homes  were  desolate, 
their  lands  uncultivated  and  overrun  with  weeds  ;  they  often 
found  their  wives  or  children  dead  or  scattered,  and  many,  on 
reaching  home,  sank  down  on  the  sills  of  once  happy  but  now 
silent  and  deserted  cabins  to  die.  Many  killed  themselves  in 
despair.  Mothers  destroyed  their  children  at  their  breasts  to 
save  them  from  lives  of  torture.  In  twelve  years  from  the  dis 
covery  of  the  island  several  hundred  thousands  of  natives  had 
perished,  the  victims  of  the  white  man's  ambition  or  avarice  ; 
and  the  race,  as  Mr.  Irving  says,  was  actually  "  dissolving,  as  it 


ON   COLUMBUS.  543 

were,  from  the  face  of  the  earth."*  How  recently  had  the 
Spaniards  seen  this  beautiful  country  for  the  first  time  beaming 
like  an  earthly  paradise  ! 

Turning  from  the  sickening  picture  of  Ovando's  civil  adminis 
tration  in  Hispaniola,  his  military  record  is  not  less  heart-rending 
and  revolting.  The  kingdom  of  Xaragua,  on  the  death  of 
Behechio,  its  cacique,  without  a  son,  had  descended  to  his  sister, 
the  noble,  beautiful,  and  generous  Anacaona,  the  firm  friend  of 
the  Spaniards.  It  took  much  to  shake  her  friendship  for  them, 
but  she  saw  more  than  sufficient  in  the  cruelties  of  the  white 
men  toward  her  race,  the  miseries  she  saw  them  suffer,  her  own 
distresses  growing  out  of  the  love  affair  between  the  young 
Spaniard,  Fernando  de  Guevara,  and  her  beautiful  daughter, 
Higuenamota,  the  excesses  of  Roldan's  rebels  in  her  neighbor 
hood,  and  the  tortures  and  ruin  resulting  from  the  repartimientos. 
No  act  of  hostility,  no  secret  intrigue,  no  unfriendly  word,  no  dis 
loyal  thought  could  justly  be  imputed  to  Anacaona.  The  con 
dition  of  the  country  was  such  that  frequent  disputes  arose 
between  persecuted  Indians  and  tyrannical  Spaniards,  and  where 
an  excuse  was  desired,  a  ready  one  was  now  found  in  the  slander 
ous  reports  brought  to  Ovando  of  a  general  conspiracy  in 
Xaragua  among  the  Indians  to  rise  on  their  persecutors  and 
slaughter  them.  Without  investigating  the  matter  he  marched 
into  that  province  with  three  hundred  men  on  foot  armed  with 
swords,  arquebuses,  and  bows,  and  seventy  mounted  men  armed 
with  cuirasses,  shields,  and  lances.  No  efforts  to  discover  the 
truth,  no  explanations  asked,  no  declaration  of  war  was  neces 
sary  ;  but  war  lurked  under  professions  of  friendship. 

What  excuse  can  be  made  for  his  treacherous  announcement 
that  he  was  going  on  a  friendly  visit  to  the  queen,  Anacaona  ? 
When  received  by  the  friendly  queen  with  gracious  and  queenly 
welcome  and  hospitality,  and  treated  with  every  honor,  in  pre 
tended  return  for  the  Indian  games  and  national  performances 
with  which  he  and  his  army  had  been  entertained,  he  falsely  and 
dishonorably  drew  that  noble  woman  and  the  neighboring 
caciques,  her  vassals  and  their  people,  into  a  snare,  under  the 


*  Las  Casas,  "  Hist.  Ind.,"  lib.  ii.,  cap.  xiv.  ;  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  it.,  pp. 
423-28;  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii., 
PP-  323-27. 


544  OLD  AND  XEW 

pretext  of  entertaining  them  with  Spanish  games  and  exercises. 
On  a  concerted  signal  given  by  Ovando  himself  a  massacre, 
scarcely  paralleled  in  history  for  its  wantonness  and  cruelty, 
followed.  If  the  Indians  had  risen  on  the  Spaniards,  or  even 
designed  to  do  so,  this  could  have  been  discovered  and  punished 
by  the  imprisonment  of  the  caciques  ;  but  no  proof  of  this  was 
taken  or  existed.  The  Spanish  army  suddenly  rushed  upon  the 
crowd  of  naked,  unarmed,  and  trusting  Indians  ;  men,  women, 
and  children,  old  and  young,  were  slaughtered,  trampled  under 
foot  of  man  and  horse,  while  indiscriminate  death  was  inflicted. 
The  house  containing  the  queen  and  the  caciques  was  surrounded 
and  seized.  Anacaona  was  put  in  chains,  the  caciques  were  tied 
to  the  posts  supporting  the  roof  and  burned  to  death  beneath  the 
fired  building.  Torture,  horribly  administered,  had  in  this  house 
extracted  a  worthless  admission  of  the  alleged  conspiracy  from 
a  poor  cacique.  The  fugitives  from  this  wholesale  carnage  were 
overtaken  and  subjected  to  the  slow  death  of  slavery.  The  noble 
Anacaona,  the  white  man's  friend,  was  afterward  ignominiously 
hanged  at  San  Domingo  in  the  presence  of  many  who  should 
have  returned  her  friendship  by  at  least  defending  her  or  saving 
h'er.  Ovando,  with  unmanly  perfidy,  had  endeavored  to  palliate 
his  crime  by  falsely  befouling  the  reputation  of  Anacaona,  but 
history  has  acquitted  her,  while  his  meanness,  perfidy,  and 
cruelty  stand  forever  against  him.  Eighty-four  caciques  were 
burned  to  death  by  Ovando,  and,  to  add  to  the  infamy  of  his  con 
duct,  it  is  related,  by  undoubted  authority,  that  just  before  this 
wanton  massacre  Ovando  had  played  a  game  of  battledore  with 
his  officers  ! 

"  Cruel  of  hftart  and  strong  of  arm, 

Loud  in  his  sport  and  keen  of  spoil, 
He  little  reck'd  of  good  or  harm, 
Fierce  both  in  mirth  and  toil  ; 
Yet  like  a  dog  could  fawn,  if  need  there  were  ; 
Speak  mildly  when  he  would,  or  look  in  fear." 

— DANA'S  "  BUCCANEER." 

The  pretended  fear  of  Ovando  for  an  Indian  conspiracy  which 
never  existed,  his  acceptance  of  the  hospitality  of  the  Xaraguans 
and  their  noble  queen,  his  game  of  pleasure  when  thirst  for  blood 
consumed  his  heart,  his  treachery  to  the  confiding  Indians,  his 
dishonorable  abuse  of  the  rites  of  hospitality,  his  violation  of 
every  precept  of  Christianity,  his  wanton  cruelty,  his  levity  in 


ON   COLUMBUS.  545 

the  midst  of  the  fiercest  slaughter  he  contemplated,  his  cold 
blooded  judicial  murders,  his  unrelenting  destruction  of  women 
and  children,  his  remorseless  and  continued  persecution  and  ruin 
of  an  already  subject  race,  are  parts  only  of  the  unworthy  record 
of  a  man  who  had  won  the  decorations  of  chivalrous  and  Chris 
tian  orders  !  He  was  commander  of  Larez,  of  the  Order  of 
Alcantara  !  Well  has  Tarducci  exclaimed,  "  For  the  sake  of 
humanity  we  wish  we  could  discredit  this  atrocious  infamy  of 
Ovando  and  his  followers." 

The  massacre  of  the  Xaraguans  continued  for  six  months,  for 
the  Spaniards  seemed  not  contented  with  subjugation,  but  to  aim 
at  absolute  annihilation  under  the  pretext  of  suppressing  the 
insurrection  which  never 'occurred.  How  could  so  ruined  a 
people,  absolutely  flying  from  their  homes  to  the  mountains  to 
escape  destruction,  be  said  to  be  in  insurrection  ?  And  when 
the  fugitives  fled  to  the  caves  of  the  mountains  they  were  said  to 
be  plotting  insurrection.  Their  deserted  houses  and  villages 
were  fired  ;  the  fugitives  were  captured  and  killed  ;  the  more 
the  affrighted  natives  fled  from  the  wrath  of  their  masters,  the 
more  the  latter  pursued  and  slaughtered  them.  Their  retreats 
in  the  caverns  became  their  tombs  ;  villages  were  destroyed  and 
inhabitants  murdered  to  such  an  extent  that  there  remained  but 
little  to  burn  and  few  to  murder — surely  none  to  make  an  insur 
rection  !  Finally  the  Spaniards  considered  order  restored  in 
Xaragua,  where  it  had  never  been  disturbed  except  by  Spaniards. 
With  an  inconsistency  as  strange  as  it  was  blasphemous,  Ovando 
erected  on  the  shore  of  a  beautiful  lake  a  new  city  in  commemo 
ration  of  his  triumph  over  the  unresisting  Xaraguans,  and  called 
it  Santa  Maria  de  la  Verdadera  Paz  (St.  Mary  of  True  Peace), 
giving  to  it  for  its  arms  the  olive  branch,  the  iris,  and  the  cross. 
No  wonder  that  Tarducci,  in  recording  this  brazen  mockery, 
exclaimed,  "  I  know  of  no  bloody  hypocrisy  that  can  compare 
with  this."  Sacrilege  was  thus  added  to  an  endless  list  of  crimes. 

There  only  remained  now  the  fine  province  of  Higuey  to  be 
conquered  in  order  to  complete  the  Spanish  conquest  and  sub 
jugation  of  all  Hispaniola.  A  pretext,  however  slight,  was  only 
needed  to  draw  upon  the  Higueyans  the  exterminating  wrath  of 
the  Spaniards.  Ovando  regarded  such  conquests  as  glorious 
triumphs,  to  be  commemorated  with  devotional  shrines.  But  to 
conquerors  so  accustomed  to  acts  of  cruelty  and  suppression  a 


546  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

pretext  was  not  long  wanting,  and  the  pretext  of  course  arose 
out  of  some  wanton  act  of  cruelty  from  themselves.  Some 
Spaniards  cruelly  set  a  fierce  dog  on  a  cacique  of  the  province  ; 
he  was  horribly  bitten,  and  soon  died  of  his  wounds.  Instead  of 
surrendering  the  criminals — an  utterly  unheard-of  thing  for  con 
querors  to  do — or  at  least  punishing  the  miscreants  for  murder, 
the  demands  for  justice  on  the  part  of  the  Higueyans  were  not 
noticed.  Ovando  decided  to  let  time  and  neglect  allay  their 
just  indignation.  But  the  wronged  savages  acted  upon  the 
natural  law  of  retaliation,  and  made  reprisals  by  seizing  and  put 
ting  to  death  a  boatload  of  Spaniards,  eight  in  number,  near  the 
little  island  of  Saona,  in  Higuey.  Now  the  law  of  justice  was 
reversed,  and  the  Spaniards  sent  four  hundred  armed  men  to 
punish  the  whole  nation.  The  chief  cacique  of  the  district  was 
the*noble  and  gigantic  Cotabanama,  the  tallest  man  in  the  coun 
try,  and  the  best  proportioned.  The  Spanish  forces,  under  the 
command  of  Esquibel,  pretended  at  first  to  desire  to  right  the 
matter  by  peaceful  negotiation  ;  but  the  cacique,  remembering 
the  slaughter  of  the  Xaraguans  under  the  guise  of  a  friendly 
entertainment,  justly  distrusted  the  good  faith  of  the  invaders. 
Strong  in  numbers,  thoroughly  conversant  with  the  country, 
brave  as  the  bravest,  and  conscious  of  the  justice  of  their  cause, 
the  Indians  appealed  to  the  dread  arbitration  of  arms,  and  in  the 
conflict  they  showed  the  most  wonderful  evidences  of  valor, 
constancy,  and  national  pride.  The  military  skill,  the  discipline, 
the  arms  of  the  Europeans,  however,  gave  to  inferior  numbers 
the  advantage  over  undisciplined  numbers.  The  brave  Higuey 
ans  were  defeated  at  every  point  and  dispersed  ;  they  fled  to 
mountain  and  forest.  The  Spaniards  pursued  them  unmerci 
fully,  hounded  them  out  of  their  hiding-places,  slaughtered  men, 
women,  and  children,  burned  the  chiefs  alive,  and  repeated  with 
increased  fury  and  in  greater  detail  the  horrors  of  Xaragua.  The 
little  island  of  Saona,  where  the  boatload  of  Spaniards  had  been 
killed,  received  the  worst  punishment,  showing  that  revenge, 
not  protection  or  defence,  was  the  object  of  the  assailants.  The 
land  was  scoured  with  relentless  fury,  and  the  inhabitants  re 
morselessly  murdered.  Finding  in  one  place  of  retreat  seven 
hundred  affrighted  Indians  of  every  age,  sex,  and  condition,  the 
Spanish  soldiers  rushed  upon  them  and  slaughtered  them  at  the 
sword's  point,  and  the  enclosure  of  death  was  flowing  with  blood.. 


ON   COLUMBUS. 

A  few  only  of  the  inhabitants  escaped  a  cruel  death,  and  these 
were  made  slaves.  The  whole  province  was  turned  into  a  vast 
scene  of  desolation.  The  trained  European  soldiers,  who  could 
treacherously  abuse  the  hospitality  of  a  woman  and  wage  war  on 
her,  without  justice,  pretext,  or  mercy,  now  had  no  mercy  for  a 
nation  of  brave  men.  The  Indians  who  survived  this  massacre 
sued  for  peace,  were  reduced  to  slavery,  and  were  given  their 
lives  on  condition  of  cultivating  a  large  tract  of  land  for  furnish 
ing  to  their  masters  an  immense  quantity  of  cassava  bread  as 
tribute.  Peace,  if  such  annihilation  be  peace,  having  been  con 
quered,  the  brave  Cotabanama  visited  the  Spanish  camp  to  make 
his  submission,  and  according  to  the  Indian  custom,  took  the 
name  of  the  conquering  chief,  Juan  de  Esquibel,  and  gave  his 
own  name  to  the  conqueror.  Even  in  this  exchange  the  loss 
was  on  the  side  of  the  honest  Indian  chief.  A  fort  was  erected 
on  the  soil  of  the  vanquished,  under  Martin  de  Villaman,  with  a 
garrison  of  nine  men.  It  was  a  humiliating  spectacle,  when  the 
Spanish  soldiers  marched  away,  to  see  each  one  of  the  conquerors 
carrying  off  a  number  of  slaves,  assigned  to  him  as  the  rich  spoils 
of  war. 

Villaman,  the  commander  of  the  fort,  was  a  worthy  representa 
tive  of  such  humane  chieftains  as  Ovando  and  Esquibel.  The 
agreement  of  submission  was  violated  even  by  those  who  had 
gained  all  by  it.  The  Indians  were  compelled  to  carry  the  har 
vested  grain  on  their  backs  to  San  Domingo,  and  on  their  show 
ing  the  least  resistance  were  treated  with  unmeasured  brutality. 
The  Spaniards  were  allowed  unbridled  license,  and  the  Indian 
women,  girls  and  wives,  were  subjected  to  the  unchecked  lust  of 
these  unworthy  Christian  conquerors.  To  yield  to  the  oppres 
sion  of  the  conquerors  brought  no  relief  to  the  Higueyans  ;  and 
finally,  when  the  last  instincts  of  manhood  showed  themselves  in 
a  righteous  revolt  of  the  persecuted  natives,  the  whole  of  Higuey 
was,  by  Ovando's  orders,  given  over  to  fire  and  sword.  The  few 
inhabitants  left  alive  from  the  late  Spanish  scourge,  while  show 
ing  unsurpassed  personal  courage  and  patriotism,  were  treated 
with  the  utmost  brutality,  and  the  Indians  fell  in  the  most  heroic 
struggle  for  their  liberty  and  homes  rather  than  live  to  be  Span 
ish  slaves.  "  Some,  who  had  not  found  a  chance  to  die  in  defend 
ing  their  own,  were  forced  to  act  as  guides  to  their  enemies,  and 
with  ropes  tied  around  their  necks  they  were  driven  forward  to 


548  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

show  the  spots  wherever  a  few  fugitives  had  retreated.  While 
the  Indians  sought  death  in  preference  to  Slavery,  the  Spanish 
blades  "never  stopped  striking  or  slaying  as  long  as  life  re 
mained."*  In  the  last  stronghold  of  the  poor  inhabitants,  the 
capital  of  Cotabanama,  strategy  brought  into  the  power  of  the 
Spaniards  parties  of  Indians  assembled  or  hidden  to  defend  their 
country,  and  they  were  given  over  to  merciless  slaughter.  One 
slaughter  was  followed  by  another  ;  blood  flowed  like  water  ; 
the  Indians  showed  heroic  bravery — the  courage  of  desperation— 
and  finally,  when  Spanish  arms  prevailed  over  their  splendid 
heroism,  they  fled  to  the  most  inaccessible  mountains,  followed 
by  their  unsparing  conquerors.  The  Spaniards  called  this  "  the 
hunt  of  the  Indians,"  and  so  it  was,  for  the  gentle  and  noble 
Las  Casas  sent  up  a  cry  of  horror  at  the  atrocities  of  his  country 
men  ;  and  it  is  consoling  to  find  one  voice  at  least  to  cast  infamy 
upon  the  authors  of  such  horrors.  It  is  no  palliation  of  their 
crimes  to  allege  that  the  Spaniards  were  made  up  of  the  lowest 
dregs  of  society  and  the  refuse  of  prisons  and  galleys,  when 
under  the  eyes  of  the  commanders  and  by  their  orders  the  poor 
Indians  caught  had  their  hands  cut  off,  and  were  thus  sent  to 
their  flying  countrymen  to  procure  their  submission.  This  was 
a  common  cruelty,  and  resulted  in  many  excruciating  deaths  on* 
the  open  roads.  Other  Indians  were  swung  upon  gibbets  hung 
so  low  that  the  feet  of  the  victims  touched  the  ground,  and  thus 
prolonged  and  increased  their  sufferings.  To  add  blasphemy  to 
the  atrocities  of  these  unworthy  representatives  of  a  Christian 
civilization,  the  Spaniards  hung  thirteen  Indians  at  one  time, 
saying  it  was  in  memory  of  Christ  and  the  twelve  apostles. 
While  the  tortured  victims  were  thus  hanging,  the  Spaniards 
wantonly  tested  the  strength  and  qualities  of  their  swords  by 
mangling  and  mincing  their  bodies,  and  ended  the  atrocious 
tragedy  by  gayly  lighting  a  bonfire  of  their  victims,  thus  con 
suming  the  dead  and  dying  together.  Caciques  and  other  more 
important  prisoners  were  broiled  alive  on  gridirons  by  slow 
fires.  Las  Casas  says  that  he  once  saw  five  caciques  thus  burned, 
each  on  a  separate  gridiron,  and  his  generous  heart  was  racked 
by  their  piteous  screams.  These  same  screams,  long  continued 
by  the  slowness  of  the  fires,  disturbed  the  sleep  of  the  captain, 


Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  336. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  549 

who  sent  an  order  to  strangle  the  victims  ;  but  the  executioner 
stopped  their  cries  by  stuffing  chips  in  their  mouths,  while  their 
tortures  were  prolonged.  He  continued  during  the  night  to 
poke  the  fires,  that  he  might  the  longer  enjoy  their  tortures  and 
sufferings.  Las  Casas  recorded  such  horrors  of  Spanish  desola 
tion  in  Hispaniola  that,  while  he  states  that  he  witnessed  them 
with  his  own  eyes,  he  could  scarcely  believe  them  afterward 
when  his  pen  recorded  them,  and  they  seemed  like  a  dream. 

To  end  this  abhorrent  narrative,  it  must  be  stated  that  the  final 
retreat  of  the  brave  and  unfortunate  Cotabanama,  on  the  island 
of  Saona,  was  ferreted  out  by  the  Spaniards  by  means  of  tortures 
and  cruelties  inflicted  upon  the  natives,  his  subjects,  who  kept 
his  secret  and  guarded  the  way.  The  chief  was  wounded,  and 
dragged,  all  bleeding  from  his  wounds,  like  a  wild  beast  to  the 
nearest  village  and  ironed.  The  wife  and  children  of  the  chief 
escaped  from  the  hiding-place  where  he  was  seized  to  another. 
The  Spaniards  who  seized  Cotabanama  at  first  thought  of  amus 
ing  themselves  by  broiling  him  alive,  but  this  was  regarded  as 
too  selfish  a  sport  for  a  few  to  enjoy,  and  he  was  carried  in  chains 
to  San  Domingo.  Such  was  his  wounded  and  bloody  appear 
ance  that  no  one  could  recognize  the  once  handsome  chief  ;  but 
neither  his  sufferings,  his  helpless  condition,  his  approaching 
death  from  loss  of  blood  and  from  his  tortures,  could  find  an 
honest  or  humane  cord  in  the  heart  of  Ovando  to  touch.  By  the 
governor's  orders  this  noble  chief  was  ignominiously  hanged  in 
the  public  square  at  San  Domingo.  He  was  the  last  of  the 
native  sovereigns  of  Hispaniola.  With  him  expired  all  effort  of 
the  Indians  to  defend  their  homes  or  country,  or  to  assert  their 
natural  independence.  This  once  peaceful  and  happy  race  pos 
sessed  a  country  a  few  years  before,  at  the  time  they  were  first  vis 
ited  by  the  white  men,  which  ravished  the  eyes  of  the  intruders. 
Now  this  land  of  beauty,  plenty,  and  of  peace  was  a  vast  scene 
of  desolation.  Of  the  innocent  and  contented  native  race  that 
held  their  country  by  a  title  derived  from  the  God  of  all  and  from 
the  law  of  nature,  scarcely  one-sixth  part  had  escaped  or  sur 
vived  the  sword,  the  fagot,  or  the  gibbet  of  their  Spanish  con 
querors.  Upon  this  unhappy  remnant  of  a  noble  and  generous 
race  the  Spanish  yoke  rested  most  cruelly,  and  death  from  the 
slower  tortures  of  the  mines,  the  fields,  the  lash,  the  rope,  and 
the  prison,  and  from  fatigue,  ill-treatment,  cruel  labor  and 


550  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

oppression  came  upon  them  as  surely  as  it  had  more  speedily 
overtaken  their  slaughtered  countrymen.  Despair  was  not  resig 
nation.  Death  was  not  submission.  When  the  brave  Cota- 
banama  claimed  the  protection  of  honor  and  friendship  arising 
from  the  exchange  of  names,  and  exclaimed  beneath  the  Spanish 
swords,  "  I  am  Juan  de  Esquibel,"  he  was  treated  with  scorn, 
tortures,  and  an  ignominious  death.  What  quarter  could  these 
poor  Indians  expect  from  the  hands  of  men  who  disgraced  the 
very  name  of  Christian,  to  which  they  so  tenaciously  clung,  and 
which  they  had  hypocritically  professed  to  desire  to  share  with 
the  Indians  ?  The  generous  heart  of  the  noble  Bishop  Las  Casas, 
who  witnessed  the  atrocities  here  related,  and  which  are  here 
narrated  on  the  authority  of  his  writings,  bled  for  the  Indians. 
We  know  of  no  other  humane  voice  then  and  there  to  join  har 
moniously  with  him  in  the  protest  against  such  atrocities.  But 
there  was  one  other  heart — a  suffering  one  not  far  distant — a 
heart  which,  though  Christian,  had  felt  the  cruelties  of  Ovando 
in  the  midst  of  his  own  wrongs,  which  bled  with  the  heart  of  Las 
Casas  for  the  slaughtered  Indians  :  this  was  the  heart  of  Chris 
topher  Columbus  ! 

The  two  ships  fitted  out  at  San  Domingo,  after  a  year's  heart 
less  delay  and  cruel  sufferings  on  the  part  of  Columbus  and  his 
followers,  sailed  from  that  port.  The  faithful  Mendez,  having 
witnessed  their  departure,  availed  himself  of  the  first  opportunity 
of  sailing  for  Spain  to  execute  the  important  mission  intrusted  to 
him  by  Columbus.  Fiesco  also,  now  that  the  admiral  was  to  be 
released,  returned  to  Spain.  The  two  ships  under  the  command 
of  Diego  de  Salcedo,  when  they  arrived  at  Santa  Gloria,  the 
port  of  the  admiral's  shipwreck  and  exile  in  Jamaica,  brought  joy 
for  the  first  time  to  the  hearts  of  all.  On  one  of  the  vessels  the 
admiral  embarked  with  such  of  his  companions  as  had  proved 
faithful  ;  he  sent  the  rebels  on  board  the  other.  Leaving  his 
loathsome  wrecks  and  embarking  on  the  caravel,  the  admiral 
raised  his  flag,  and,  as  Mr.  Irving  says,  ' '  he  felt  as  if  the  career 
of  enterprise  and  glory  were  once  more  open  to  him."  The 
Porras  brothers  and  their  unworthy  confederates  felt  anxious 
about  the  treatment  they  should  receive  from  the  man  whom 
they  had  so  grossly  slandered  and  treacherously  treated  ;  but 
Columbus  was  most  generous  in  moments  of  prosperity.  Not 


ON   COLUMBUS.  55  I 

only  did  he  take  them  on  board  one  of  the  caravels,  but  he  pro 
vided  for  their  relief  and  comfort  out  of  his  own  purse,  and  after 
their  arrival  in  Spain  he  continued  to  plead  with  the  sovereigns 
in  their  behalf.  Francisco  Porras,  while  Ovando  deemed  it  best 
not  to  investigate  the  affair,  was  sent  by  him  to  Spain  for  exami 
nation  by  the  Bureau  of  the  Indies.  The  admiral  with  the  two 
caravels  sailed  from  the  Bay  of  Santa  Gloria  on  June  28th,  but 
he  was  detained  by  contrary  winds,  and  it  took  a  month  for  the 
caravels  to  accomplish  a  voyage  performed  by  Mendez  and 
Fiesco  in  Indian  canoes  in  four  days.  Reaching  the  little  island 
of  Beata  on  August  3d,  Columbus,  distrusting  the  variable  winds 
of  that  region,  sent  overland  a  letter  to  Ovando  announcing  his 
arrival.  This  letter  he  deemed  necessary  to  remove  the  unjust 
suspicions  which  the  governor  entertained  and  had  expressed  as 
to  his  motives  ;  but  favorable  winds  enabled  him  to  resume  his 
voyage  on  August  I3th,  and  he  soon  entered  the  port  of  San 
Domingo. 

Columbus  now  received  welcome  and  sympathy  at  the  place 
where  not  long  before  he  was  execrated  and  reviled,  and  even 
refused  a  shelter  from  the  storm.  Not  only  did  the  people  turn 
out  and  receive  him  with  looks  and  expressions  of  sympathy,  but 
Ovando,  accompanied  by  the  principal  persons  of  the  place, 
advanced  to  meet  him,  gave  him  a  distinguished  reception,  and 
claimed  the  privilege  of  making  him  his  guest.  Fernando  Colum 
bus  characterizes  the  change  in  Ovando's  conduct  as  "  the  peace 
of  the  scorpion."  While  pretending  the  utmost  friendship  and 
regard  for  the  admiral,  he  claimed  that  Jamaica  was  within  his 
jurisdiction,  and  that  he  was  the  judge  in  all  matters  occurring 
there  under  Columbus.  Hence  he  released  Porras  and  sent  him 
to  Spain  with  his  own  instructions  as  to  his  disposal,  and  even 
talked  of  punishing  such  of  the  admiral's  companions  as  had 
taken  up  arms  in  his  defence  and  had  killed  in  battle  the  rebels 
who  were  Spanish  subjects.  An  argument  of  considerable 
warmth  took  place  over  the  question  of  jurisdiction,  Ovando 
claiming  power  over  all  persons  and  things  within  the  islands 
and  Terra  Firma,  while  the  admiral  asserted,  by  virtue  of  his 
royal  letters,  which  he  produced,  authority  over  all  persons 
sailing  with  him  on  this  expedition,  from  its  departure  to  its  re 
turn  to  Spain.  Each  claimant  punctiliously  contended  for  his 


552  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

view.  Ovando,  while  he  relinquished  the  idea  of  trying  the 
followers  of  Columbus,  assumed  authority  to  dispose  of  the  case 
of  Porras  and  his  rebels. 

The  heart  of  Columbus  bled  for  the  miseries  and  wrongs  of 
the  poor  natives  of  Hispaniola,  and  he  was  anxious  to  return  to 
Spain  and  plead  their  cause  before  the  queen,  who  united  with 
him  in  a  sincere  desire  to  save  them  and  convert  them  to  the 
Christian  faith.  Columbus  also  saw  through  the  exterior  courtesy 
of  Ovando  his  hypocritical  heart,  for  self-interest  made  a  selfish 
and  grasping  man  like  him  feel  and  act  upon  the  fact  that  the 
admiral's  interests  were  adverse  to  his  own.  It  had  been  an 
nounced  that  the  admiral's  suspension  from  command  in  His 
paniola  was  only  temporary  ;  Ovando's  commission  was  for  two 
years  ;  and  at  the  end  of  this  time,  when  it  was  anticipated  that 
things  would  have  quieted  down,  Columbus  expected  to  resume 
his  authority  over  the  island.  He  found  that  his  every  move 
ment  and  word  were  watched,  as  were  those  of  his  faithful  fol 
lowers.  It  was  evident  that,  while  Ovando  professed  a  certain 
ceremonious  friendship  for  him,  he  was  at  heart  his  bitter  enemy. 
He  determined  to  shorten  his  stay  at  San  Domingo,  and  having 
fitted  up  and  repaired  the  vessel  which  Mendez  had  sent  to  con 
vey  him  from  Jamaica  to  Hispaniola,  and  chartered  another,  he 
prepared  to  sail.  Most  of  his  companions  on  the  fourth  voyage 
preferred  to  remain  at  Hispaniola,  and  as  they  were  poor,  needy, 
and  without  clothes,  the  admiral  generously  provided  for  them 
out  of  the  scanty  revenue  that  had  been  collected  for  him, and  he 
advanced  the  money  for  such  as  wished  to  return  to  Spain.  In 
his  generosity  he  made  no  distinction  between  those  who  had 
remained  faithful  to  him  and  those  who  had  rebelled  against  him. 
He  treated  them  all  with  truly  paternal  and  tender  care.  He 
embarked  with  his  son  and  domestics  on  the  ship  sent  to  him  by 
Mendez,  and  sent  his  brother  with  the  others  on  board  the  other 
caravel.  The  ships  sailed  from  San  Domingo  on  September 
1 2th,  but  now  again  Columbus  had  experiences  of  his  usual  ill 
luck  from  the  weather,  for  a  storm  carried  away  his  ship's  mast, 
so  that  he  was  compelled  to  go  with  his  party  on  board  the  other 
ship  and  send  the  disabled  caravel  back  to  port.  The  first  part 
of  the  voyage  was  favorable.  On  October  i8th  the  ship  encoun 
tered  furious  storms,  her  mainmast  was  split  into  four  pieces,  the 
admiral  was  prostrated  on  his  couch  with  a  severe  return  of  his. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  553 

gout,  and  it  was  only  the  Adelantado's  energy  and  excellent  skill 
that  carried  the  ship  through  the  dangers  by  which  she  was 
beset  at  every  turn.  Finally  the  ship,  in  a  crippled  condition, 
entered  the  port  of  San  Lucar  de  Barrameda,  on  November  /th, 
1 504.  But  if  his  ship  was  bravely  kept  together  and  held  from 
going  to  pieces,  the  health  of  the  admiral  was  completely 
wrecked. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

"  Here  is  my  journey's  end,  here  is  my  birth, 
And  very  sea-mark  of  my  utmost  sail." 

—SHAKESPEARE'S  "OTHELLO." 

"  At  every  little  breath  misfortune  blows, 
'Till  left  quite  naked  of  their  happiness, 
In  the  chill  blast  of  winter  they  expire." 

— YOUNG. 

A  CASTILLA  Y  A  LEON 
NUEVO  MUNDO  DIO  COLON. 

— EPITAPH  OF  COLUMBUS. 

FROM  the  port  of  San  Lucar  de  Barrameda  the  sick  and  en 
feebled  admiral  had  himself  carried  to  Seville,  where  he  hoped 
to  find  rest  and  repose  after  the  disasters,  misfortunes,  and  suffer 
ings  of  his  last  voyage.  He  hoped  soon  to  go  from  Seville  to 
court  ;  but  misfortune  followed  him  wherever  he  went,  and  every 
day  and  hour  of  his  declining  years.  Seville  was  not  then  a 
congenial  place  for  him  ;  his  friends,  and  even  the  learned  and 
sympathetic  Gaspard  Gorricio,  the  Franciscan  monk,  were  all 
absent.  He  was  compelled  to  put  up  in  a  hotel  ;  and  as  it  was 
winter — the  severest  winter  in  the  memory  of  men — his  bodily 
sufferings  from  his  old  disease  were  intense.  Confined  to  his 
bed,  unable  to  move,  he  could  only  with  great  difficulty  and  pain 
use  his  pen,  now  so  necessary  for  the  promotion  of  his  imperilled 
affairs  and  interests.  Seville  had  become  the  centre  of  colonial 
business  ;  the  Admiralty  of  the  Indies  had  become  thoroughly 
organized  as  a  marine  and  colonial  administration,  and  was  pre 
sided  over  by  Juan  de  Fonseca,  his  implacable  enemy.  While 
he  was  confined  to  his  bed  by  illness  and  sufferings  his  enemies 
were  abroad.  The  late  rebels  who  had  conspired  against  his  life 
were  received  at  court  and  were  plotting  against  him,  and  the 
documents  relating  to  their  misconduct  had  been  carried  back  to 
San  Domingo  in  the  unmasted  caravel.  The  sailors  who  returned 
with  him  now,  including  some  who  had  opposed  him,  were 


ON  COLUMBUS.  555 

still  without  their  back  pay  ;  all  these  came  to  him  in  his  own 
poverty  to  ask  his  pecuniary  assistance,  and  for  his  aid  in  pre 
senting  their  claims.  If  Columbus  had  suffered  so  intensely  from 
his  disease  in  the  warm  climates,  to  which  he  was  accustomed, 
and  in  which  he  was  constantly  confined  to  his  bed,  unable  to 
repose  day  or  night  from  the  agonizing  spasms  in  his  joints, 
what  must  now  have  been  his  sufferings  in  the  severity  of  this  un 
precedented  winter,  especially  when  the  excitement  of  discovery 
and  adventure  was  withdrawn  ! 

Great  as  were  his  physical  sufferings,  immensely  greater  were 
his  mental  agonies.  While  his  few  friends  were  absent  from 
Seville,  that  city  was  filled  with  his  enemies.  Not  the  least  of 
his  humiliations  was  the  fact  that,  while  it  was  universally 
believed  that  his  revenues  were  immense,  and  so  they  should 
have  been,  and  his  rank  placed  him  under  the  necessity  of  main 
taining  a  certain  and  a  most  expensive  style  of  life,  he  was,  from 
the  frauds  and  injustice  of  his  enemies  and  of  the  crown,  suffering 
the  pangs  of  actual  poverty.  Ovando  had  been  ordered  to 
restore  to  him  and  to  his  agents  all  his  rights  on  the  revenues 
and  trade  of  Hispaniola,  and  also  to  examine  his  accounts  and  to 
ascertain  all  arrears  due  to  him,  and  the  damages  sustained  from 
his  imprisonment  by  Bobadilla,  the  seizure  of  his  house  and  other 
wrongs.  The  good  and  noble  queen  sent  repeated  orders  in  his 
behalf,  but  these  were  evaded,  and  the  grossest  injustice  was 
now  experienced  by  him.  His  personal  demands  on  Ovando  at 
San  Domingo  led  to  serious  quarrels  between  them,  and  he  could 
get  from  that  insidious  enemy  only  four  thousand  castellanos, 
when  eleven  or  twelve  thousand  were  due.  He  had  been  com 
pelled  to  expend  most  of  what  his  agents  had  collected  in  pro 
viding  a  ship  to  bring  him  home,  and  now,  in  a  letter  to  his  son, 
he  states  that  ten  million  maravedis  were  due  to  him  annually. 
Such  was  now  his  poverty  that  he  was  compelled  to  seek  a  loan 
where  he  could  ;  he  was  living,  in  fact,  on  the  kindness  of  his 
friends,  and  it  is  known  several  of  these  generously  relieved  his 
most  pressing  wants. 

From  his  bed  of  suffering  Columbus  addressed  repeated  letters 
to  the  sovereigns,  to  his  friends,  to  his  son  Diego,  and  others, 
urging  the  restitution  of  his  rights  and  incomes,  and  strongly 
stating  the  grounds  for  their  enforcement.  He  dwelt  even  more 
on  the  injustice  done  to  his  crew  in  the  non-payment  of  their 


556  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

dues  ;  and  such  were  their  delays  and  disappointments,  and  such 
their  appeals  to  him,  that  he  was  compelled  to  aid  them  from  the 
money  he  borrowed  from  others.  The  action  of  the  king  and 
queen  in  suspending  his  offices  and  dignities,  his  rights  and 
privileges,  and  placing  a  governor  in  his  stead,  was  the  greatest 
of  his  wrongs,  and  against  this  he  cried  out  from  his  bed  of  pain 
with  persistent  demand. 

The  maladministration  of  affairs  in  the  Indies,  the  wrongs  and 
injustices  heaped  upon  the  poor  Indians,  their  almost  entire 
annihilation,  and  that  without  their  being  brought  to  the  Chris 
tian  faith,  agonized  his  soul.  He  addressed  to  their  Majesties 
the  most  frequent  and  urgent  letters  and  petitions,  and  again  and 
again  solicited  through  himself  and  others  a  reply  from  them, 
but  all  in  vain.  His  enemies  seemed  alone  to  possess  the  ear  of 
the  court  ;  and  no  man  ever  had  such  enemies.  They  boasted 
of  the  alleged  and  pretended  failure  of  his  last  voyage  ;  the  pass 
he  went  to  discover  had  no  existence  ;  the  golden  regions  of 
Veragua  had  yielded  no  gold.  The  numerous  rebels  under 
Roldan  and  Porras,  all  now  at  large  and  unpunished,  were  so 
many  accusers  of  the  admiral.  His  son  was  at  court,  constantly 
importuning  the  sovereigns  for  a  hearing  and  for  justice  ;  but 
Isabella  was  suffering  from  an  incurable  malady,  and  Ferdinand 
was  known  to  be  hostile  to  him  and  his  just  rights.  The  Bureau 
of  the  Indies,  availing  themselves  of  the  fact  that  the  papers 
relating  to  the  Porras  insurrection  had  been  sent  back  to  San 
Domingo  in  the  dismasted  ship,  refused  to  act  in  the  case,  upon 
the  pretext  that  there  were  no  documents.  Such  protracted 
silence  on  the  part  of  the  sovereigns,  such  denials  of  justice  at 
every  turn,  forced  the  admiral  to  attempt,  at  every  risk,  to  go  to 
court,  and  in  person  to  importune  the  king  and  queen  for  justice. 

Such  was  the  nature  of  his  disease  and  such  the  severity  of  the 
winter,  that  the  admiral's  life  seemed  imminently  in  danger.  To 
attempt  such  a  journey  was  regarded  as  sure  to  prove  fatal  to 
such  an  invalid.  He  resolved  to  make  every  sacrifice  in  order 
to  reach  the  ear  of  the  king,  and  for  that  purpose  to  be  carried 
on  a  bier.  When  the  discoverer  of  the  new  world  applied  to  the 
cathedral  chapter  of  Seville  for  the  same  bier  that  had  served  to 
bring  the  body  of  Cardinal  Mendoza,  he  was  required  to  give 
security  for  its  return  to  the  cathedral  in  good  condition — so 
low  was  the  credit  of  one  who  was  then  entitled  to  an  income  of 


ox  COLUMBUS.  557 

ten  million  maravedis  annually.  Even  when  the  security  was 
given  by  Francisco  Pinedo,  it  was  found  that  the  admiral's  life 
would  be  most  assuredly  and  fatally  imperilled,  and  the  visit  to 
court  had  to  be  abandoned.  In  this  severe  disappointment  he 
was  compelled  again  to  write  long  letters  and  appeals  to  express 
what  he  had  intended  to  say  in  person  at  court.  He  could  only 
write  at  night,  owing  to  the  malady  in  his  hands.  He  pointed 
out  in  writing  and  in  detail  to  his  son  the  arguments  and  methods 
to  be  pursued  in  demanding  justice  for  him.  In  one  of  his  letters 
he  writes,  "  The  Indies  are  going  to  destruction  ;  the  fire  is  at  a 
thousand  points  ;  I  have  had  nothing,  and  I  receive  nothing  of 
the  revenue  I  own  there  ;  no  one  will  risk  a  claim  for  me  in  that 
country  ;  I  live  on  loans." 

In  the  midst  of  such  wrongs  and  sufferings  the  heart  of  Colum 
bus  received  a  new  grief  in  the  accounts  he  received  of  the  sink 
ing  health  of  his  good  and  amiable  friend,  the  gentle  Isabella, 
his  queen.  Her  life  was  in  fact  despaired  of  when  he  had  landed 
at  San  Lucar,  and  death  was  advancing  on  this  peerless  queen 
with  steady  and  rapid  strides.  This  accounts  in  part,  no  doubt, 
for  the  silence  with  which  the  admiral's  appeals  were  received 
at  court,  for  the  cold,  calculating,  selfish,  and  ungrateful  Ferdi 
nand  was  now  in  his  own  person  the  court.  The  generous  and 
noble  benefactress  of  Columbus  was  actually  dead  when  he  wrote 
to  his  son  at  court  the  heart-rending  sentiments  with  which  he 
heard  the  news  of  her  approaching  dissolution.  His  grief  at  her 
sad  condition  is  known  to  have  greatly  aggravated  his  sufferings 
of  mind  and  body.  Informed  of  her  death,  then  hourly  ex 
pected,  on  December  3d,  he  had  just  written  to  his  son,  "  May 
it  please  the  Holy  Trinity  to  restore  our  sovereign  queen  to 
health,  for  by  her  will  everything  be  adjusted  which  is  now  in 
confusion."  The  noble  and  pious  queen  died  on  November  26th, 
1 504,  at  Medino  del  Campo,  in  the  fifty-fourth  year  of  her  event 
ful  and  glorious  life.  In  the  midst  of  worldly  grandeur  and  suc 
cess  she  died  a  death  accelerated  by  her  sorrows — sorrows  of  a 
loving  and  tender  soul  ;  sorrows  of  her  maternal  heart,  which 
all  the  glories  of  earth  could  not  heal.  The  death  of  her  only 
son,  Prince  Juan  ;  then  the  death  of  her  cherished  daughter,  the 
Princess  Isabella,  who  had  been  to  her  also  companion  and 
bosom  friend  ;  next  the  death  of  her  grandson  and  heir-apparent, 
the  Prince  Miguel,  and  finally  the  evident  development  of  mental 


558  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

infirmities  in  her  daughter,  the  Princess  Juana,  and  her  domestic 
unhappiness  with  her  husband,  the  Archduke  Philip,  had  pre 
sented  to  the  lips  of  the  queen  the  full  chalice  of  earthly  afflic 
tions.  While  her  public  life  as  a  sovereign  was  crowned  with 
unsurpassed  success  and  glory,  she  wasted  away  and  sickened 
under  the  misfortunes  of  her  own  home  and  household.  A  pro 
found  and  incurable  melancholy  gradually  subverted  her  fine 
constitution,  intensified  her  physical  sufferings,  and  carried  her 
to  the  grave  in  the  prime  of  her  useful  success  and  glory,  and 
midway  of  a  life  that  was  generous,  just,  queenly,  and  Christian. 

In  keeping  with  the  simplicity  of  her  character  and  with  the 
severely  disciplined  experiences  of  this  noble  woman  was  that 
passage  in  her  will  which  reads,  "  Let  my  body  be  interred  in 
the  monastery  of  San  Francisco,  which  is  in  the  Alhambra  of  the 
city  of  Granada,  in  a  low  sepulchre,  without  any  ornament  ex 
cept  a  plain  stone,  with  the  mortuary  inscription  cut  on  it.  But 
I  desire  that  if  the  king,  my  lord,  should  choose  a  sepulchre  in 
a  church  or  monastery  in  any  other  part  or  place  of  these  my 
kingdoms,  my  body  be  transported  thither,  and  buried  beside 
the  body  of  his  Highness,  so  that  the  union  we  have  enjoyed 
while  living,  and  which,  through  the  mercy  of  God,  we  hope 
our  souls  will  experience  in  heaven,  may  be  represented  by  our 
bodies  in  the  earth."*  Her  will,  the  last  and  most  solemn  act 
of  her  life,  exhibits  the  grandeur  of  the  queen  with  the  tenderest 
conjugal  affection  of  the  wife,  the  purest  sentiments  of  the  mother 
united  with  the  affectionate  love  she  always  bore  to  her  subjects, 
the  enterprise  of  a  strong  and  well-balanced  character  with  the 
faith,  piety,  and  humility  of  the  true  Christian,  a  noble  exaltation 
of  character  with  an  unfaltering  charity.  Tarducci  speaks  of 
"  her  humility  of  heart"  and  "  her  sweetest  piety  and  tenderest 
melancholy,"  of  "  her  singular  merits  as  queen,  which  not  only 
made  her  most  celebrated  among  all  the  women  that  have  worn 
a  crown,  but  place  her  on  a  level  with  the  greatest  monarchs 
recorded  in  history,"  and  of  "  her  right  to  have  her  name  indis- 
solubly  joined  to  that  of  Christopher  Columbus."  f 

Mr.  Irving  writes  of  Isabella  as  follows  :  "  Such  was  one  of 

*  King  Ferdinand  preferred  in  life  that  his  body  in  death  repose  beside  that  of  his 
peerless  queen  ;  and  the  remains  of  both  are  deposited  in  the  royal  chapel  of  the  Cathe 
dral  of  Granada. 

f  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  351,  352. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  559 

several  passages  in  the  will  of  this  admirable  woman,  which 
bespoke  the  chastened  humility  of  her  heart,  and  in  which,  as 
has  been  well  observed,  the  affections  of  conjugal  love  were 
delicately  entwined  with  piety,  and  with  the  most  tender  melan 
choly.  She  was  one  of  the  purest  spirits  that  ever  ruled  over 
the  destinies  of  a  nation.  Had  she  been  spared,  her  benignant 
vigilance  would  have  prevented  many  a  scene  of  horror  in  the 
colonization  of  the  new  world,  and  might  have  softened  the  lot 
of  its  native  inhabitants.  As  it  is,  her  fair  name  will  ever  shine 
with  celestial  radiance  in  the  dawning  of  its  history."  In  glow 
ing  terms  Prescott  speaks  of  her  exalted  resignation  in  death, 
her  graceful  and  benignant  manners,  her  magnanimity,  her  piety, 
her  strong  and  unswerving  principles,  her  practical  good  sense, 
her  activity  in  life  and  administration,  her  courage,  her  tender 
sensibility  ;  and  while  he  alludes  to  what  he  calls  her  bigotry,  he 
excuses  it  on  the  plea  that  it  was  common  to  her  country  and 
age.  He  should  have  considered  that  bigotry,  in  its  proper 
sense,  was  wholly  inconsistent  with  the  exalted  virtues  and 
splendid  intellect  which  he  himself  attributes  to  Isabella.  Big 
otry  is  a  relative  quality,  and  it  may  be  truly  said  that  Isabella's 
religious  character  was  free  from  bigotry  as  understood  in  any 
odious  light. 

While  it  would  be  quite  a  pleasant  thing,  and  replete  with 
useful  advantages,  to  quote  from  numerous  authors  exalted 
tributes  to  the  character  of  Isabella,  our  space  compels  us  to 
adduce  no  further  such  pleasing  testimony  ;  but  the  language  of 
the  Count  de  Lorgues,  tinged  though  it  be  with  his  usual  enthu 
siasm,  describes  so  beautifully  and  strikingly  the  ennobling  rela 
tions  and  the  contrasts  between  her  and  Columbus,  that  our 
readers  will  not  regard  the  following  passages  as  unwelcome  or 
inappropriate. 

"  On  being  informed  of  her  death,  who  shall  tell  the  rending 
of  heart  and  bitterness  of  grief  he  experienced  ?  The  father  who 
loses  his  only  daughter  feels  no  keener  anguish  of  heart.  To 
paint  this  unutterable  affliction  it  would  be  necessary  to  measure 
in  its  sublimity  that  attraction  for  each  other  of  the  two  souls 
which  Providence  had  predestined  to  elaborate  the  greatest  work 
of  the  human  race.  By  its  immensity  the  grief  of  Columbus 
bordered  on  the  infinite  ;  its  multiple  suffering  was  as  vast  as  the 
spirit  that  animated  the  body  of  that  queen,  which  was  stamped 


560  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

with  an  indelible  majesty.  It  was  the  rending  of  a  superior 
sympathy,  rooted  in  tenderness  of  soul,  fecundated  with  the 
splendors  of  faith,  and  vivified  in  Christ,  who  was  its  principle, 
its  safeguard,  and  its  immortal  end. 

"  His  only  stay  in  this  world  was  gone  ;  he  had  lost  more  than 
a  protectress,  more  than  a  sovereign — he  had  lost  a  friend.  Yes, 
the  queen  loved  with  a  maternal  tenderness  and  honored  with  a 
respectful  deference  the  man  whom  God  had  sent  her  to  double 
the  known  space  of  creation.  Isabella  re-found  in  Columbus  her 
own  qualities — that  is  to  say,  her  eminent  virtues.  She  admired 
in  him  especially  that  modesty  of  a  hero,  that  simplicity  of  a 
saint,  and  that  artlessness  of  a  child  which  the  patriarch  of  the 
ocean  preserved  throughout  the  vicissitudes  of  his  unequalled 
labors.  An  involuntary  respect  inclined  the  great  and  venerated 
Isabella  toward  this  old  man,  breathing  grandeur,  transpiring 
the  sublime,  and  beaming  from  this  world  with  the  impress  of 
immortality. 

"  Columbus  always  saw  in  the  incomparable  Isabella  the  type 
of  purity,  of  constancy,  and  of  fidelity  to  her  word  ;  the  flower 
of  human  graces  and  the  poetry  of  humanity.  To  whom  will  he 
henceforth  recount  the  ravishments  which  the  marvels  of  un 
known  regions  produced  in  him  ?  Who  now  will  undertake  new 
discoveries  ?  Who  now  will  follow  him  in  thought  and  thank 
him  for  his  distant  fatigues  ?  Who  will  come  to  aid  him  ?  to 
realize  in  fine  the  chief  object  of  his  hopes — the  deliverance  of 
the  tomb  of  the  Divine  Saviour  ?  When  he  understood  that  his 
loss  was  effected  in  the  death  of  Isabella,  he  experienced  a  life- 
lessness  of  heart.  His  desolation  was  as  mute  as  the  tomb  ;  his 
unspeakable  grief  found  no  utterance.  It  is  only  known  that  his 
physical  sufferings  were  redoubled  by  it."  * 

Another  joint  tribute  to  Isabella  and  Columbus,  from  the 
graceful  pen  of  one  of  America's  foremost  women,  is  too  beauti 
ful  to  be  omitted — "  It  was  not  money  that  Isabella  put  into 
this  scheme,  even  at  a  mortifying  sacrifice,  which  secured  its 
success,  but  her  confidence  in  Columbus  personally,  and  what 
we  must  call  a  wonderful  enlightenment  of  mind  and  soul,  by 
which  she  took  in  at  a  glance  all  the  favoring  possibilities  until 


*  Dr.   Barry's  translation  of  the  Count  de  Lorgues'  "Life  of  Columbus,"  pp.  517, 
518. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  561 

they  became  probabilities  ;  and  these  once  grasped,  all  the 
chivalry  of  an  exalted  nature  was  pledged  to  their  fulfilment. 
There  was  no  withdrawing  of  confidence  when  once  given.  The 
sounding  line  of  her  womanly  instinct,  guided  by  the  experiences 
of  an  extraordinary  reign,  had  fathomed  the  sublime  resources 
of  Columbus  and  his  motives,  and  no  dastardly  maligner  could 
uncrown  him  for  Isabella."  * 

These  tributes  to  the  noble  character  of  Isabella  would  be 
incomplete  if  we  omitted  the  following  from  the  ever-faithful 
and  devoted  heart  of  the  admiral  :  "  A  memorial  for  thee, 
my  dear  son  Diego,  of  what  is  at  present  to  be  done.  The 
principal  thing  is  to  commend  affectionately  and  with  great  devo 
tion  the  soul  of  the  queen,  our  sovereign,  to  God.  Her  life  was 
always  catholic  and  prompt  to  all  things  in  His  holy  service  ;  for 
this  reason  we  may  rest  assured  that  she  is  received  into  His 
glory  and  beyond  the  cares  of  this  rough  and  weary  world.  The 
next  thing  is  to  apply  yourself  with  zeal  in  everything  and  every 
where  for  the  service  of  the  king,  our  lord,  and  labor  to  make 
him  forget  his  grief.  His  Highness  is  the  head  of  Christendom. 
Think  of  the  proverb  which  says,  '  When  the  head  suffers,  all 
the  members  languish. '  Therefore  all  good  Christians  ought  to 
pray  for  his  health,  so  that  he  may  live  long  ;  and  we,  who  are 
under  greater  obligations  to  serve  him  than  others,  ought  to  do 
it  with  more  zeal  and  diligence."  This  generous  appeal  and 
prayer  from  Columbus  for  Ferdinand,  at  this  juncture  in  the 
affairs  of  the  former,  go  further  to  enhance  our  admiration  of  his 
character  even  than  his  tribute  of  gratitude  to  Isabella.  '  It  is 
impossible,"  says  Mr.  Irving,  "  to  read  this  mournful  letter 
without  being  moved  by  the  simply  eloquent  yet  artless  language 
in  which  Columbus  expresses  his  tenderness  for  the  memory  of 
his  benefactress,  his  weariness  under  the  gathering  cares  and  ills 
of  life,  and  his  persevering  and  enduring  loyalty  toward  the 
sovereign  who  was  so  ungratefully  neglecting  him."  f 

While  Isabella,  on  her  death-bed,  grieved  over  the  wrongs  and 


*  "  Isabella  of  Castile,  1492-1892,"  by  Eliza  Allen  Starr,  p.  100. 

t  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  467  ;  De'Rebus,"  Hisp,  Mem.,"  lib.  xxi.  ;  Peter 
Martyr's  "  Op.  Ep.,"  lib.  xviii.,  cap.  clxxiii.  ;  Diego  Clemencia's  "  Eulogy  on  the 
Catholic  Queen  ;"  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "Life  of  Columbus," 
vol.  ii.,  pp.  350-52. 


562  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

misfortunes  of  her  new  subjects  in  the  western  world,  and  was 
indignant  at  the  excesses  and  atrocities  of  Ovando,  she  with  her 
dying  breath  exacted  from  King  Ferdinand  a  promise  that 
Ovando  should  be  immediately  removed  from  the  office  of  gov 
ernor,  which  he  had  disgraced  and  sullied  with  innocent  blood. 
It  throws  light  upon  the  character  of  Ferdinand  that,  in  the 
face  of  such  a  promise,  made,  it  might  almost  be  said,  sacramen- 
tally,  to  his  expiring  queen  and  wife,  he  actually  continued 
Ovando  in  office  for  four  years  more,  and  with  him  continued 
without  interference  his  infamous  despotism  over  the  Indians  of 
Hispaniola.  Ovando  knew  his  superior  :  the  governor  poured 
the  ill-gotten  treasures  of  the  new  world  into  the  lap  of  Ferdi 
nand.  How,  then,  could  Ferdinand  interfere  with  the  adminis 
tration  of  Ovando  ?  Ovando  thus  became  the  superior  of  Ferdi 
nand. 

Columbus  was  fully  alive  to  the  peril  in  which  his  affairs  stood 
now  more  than  ever  since  the  death  of  his  friend  and  patroness, 
the  queen.  In  addition  to  his  son  Diego,  who  had  been  repre 
senting  him  at  court,  he  also  sent  thither  his  son  Fernando,  his 
brother  Bartholomew,  and  his  trusty  friend  Carvajal,  to  urge  his 
suit  before  the  king  before  his  ever-vigilant  enemies  could  com 
plete  their  plans  for  his  ruin.  Knowing  the  character  of  Ferdi 
nand,  Columbus  had  instructed  his  friends  at  court  to  prudently 
keep  his  personal  claims  somewhat  in  the  background,  and  to  urge 
more  immediately  matters  that  would  appeal  to  the  sordid  nature 
of  Ferdinand.  The  king  was  thus  given  to  understand  that  in 
Hispaniola  there  were  great  quantities  of  gold  belonging  to  the 
crown,  of  which  it  was  defrauded  or  delayed.  He  warned  the 
king  of  the  maladministration  of  the  affairs  of  Hispaniola,  of 
the  dangers  of  further  and  worse  troubles  breaking  out  unless 
speedy  measures  were  taken  to  give  that  country  a  good  govern 
ment  ;  and  he  urged  and  demanded  of  the  king  that  he,  the 
legitimate  governor,  should  be  sent  back  and  restored  to  his  pre 
rogatives  and  offices  in  that  island.  He  tendered  his  best  and 
most  faithful  services  to  the  king. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Columbus  received  from  Pope 
Julius  II.  an  intimation  that  the  Holy  Father  was  not  satisfied  at 
not  having  heard  from  the  admiral,  as  his  predecessors  had  heard, 
in  relation  to  the  interests  of  religion  in  Hispaniola.  Columbus 
immediately  wrote  to  the  Pope  a  full  account  of  his  discoveries  ; 


ON   COLUMBUS.  563 

but  to  avoid  all  danger  of  giving  his  enemies  a  new  pretext  for 
accusing  him  unjustly,  he  sent  copies  of  this  document  to  Ferdi 
nand,  to  Archbishop  Diego  de  Deza,  the  new  Archbishop  of 
Seville,  his  old  friend  and  former  defender  in  the  famous  Council 
of  Salamanca.  It  also  transpired  that  Columbus  was  now  in 
formed  by  some  members  of  the  Bureau  at  Seville  that  three 
bishoprics,  one  of  which  was  to  be  an  archbishopric,  were  to  be 
established  in  Hispaniola.  Not  only  had  the  king  refrained  from 
giving  the  legitimate  governor  and  viceroy  of  Hispaniola  notice 
of  this  important  movement,  but  he  also  gave  no  answer  to  a 
demand  from  Columbus  to  be  heard  upon  a  question  in  which  he 
was  so  deeply  interested.  What  could  be  more  significantly 
suspicious  as  to  the  motives  of  the  king  than  this  unjust  silence, 
which  was  as  discreditable  to  his  motives  as  to  his  conduct 
toward  Columbus  ?  The  ecclesiastics  nominated  for  the  newly 
created  sees  of  Hispaniola  were  the  Franciscan  Father  Garcia  de 
Padilla,  the  Doctor  Pedro  de  Deza,  nephew  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Seville,  and  the  Licentiate  Alonzo  Manza,  a  canon  of  Salamanca, 
whose  nominations  had  been  approved  at  Rome.  The  Holy 
See  pursued  a  more  just  and  enlightened  course  on  this  subject 
than  King  Ferdinand.  Columbus  managed  to  communicate  his 
views  on  the  subject  to  the  Papal  Nuncio.  Though  the  nomina 
tions  were  approved  the  bulls  were  not  expedited,  nor  did  the 
bishops  depart  for  their  sees  ;  for  Columbus,  with  characteristic 
firmness  and  with  zeal  for  the  good  of  the  Church,  insisted  on 
being  heard  on  so  important  a  subject.  This  led  to  further 
delay  and  investigation,  which  resulted  in  tracing  the  project 
for  the  erection  of  sees  in  Hispaniola  to  Ovando,  who  thus  con 
ceived  the  plan  in  the  interests  of  his  own  speculative  enter 
prises.  It  seemed  rather  strange  that  so  sudden  a  need  should 
have  arisen  for  three  bishops  all  at  one  time,  especially  since  the 
natives  had  been  annihilated  rather  than  converted.  Ovando 
concealed  the  obvious  propriety  of  locating  the  archiepiscopal 
see  at  San  Domingo  as  the  principal  city,  for  he  did  not  desire 
to  have  in  his  capital  so  important  a  personage  as  an  archbishop. 
So  important  a  dignitary  might  overshadow  his  own  office  and 
importance  ;  hence  the  metropolitan  see  was  to  be  erected  at 
Xaragua,  a  district  distant  over  two  hundred  miles,  almost  des 
titute  of  inhabitants  or  dwellings,  situated  in  the  mountains,  with 
out  a  connecting  road  and  without  even  an  Indian  village  for  the 


564  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

residence  of  the  prelate — a  see  without  a  city  or  a  flock.  Well 
has  the  Count  de  Lorgues  exclaimed,  "  Xaragua  !  that  dolorous 
image,  that  frightful  memento,  which  Ovando  ought  never  to 
have  recalled,  a  place  that  was  burnt  after  the  massacre,  a  heap 
of  ruins  and  of  ashes  given  up  to  silence,  to  desertion,  and  to 
dismay  !"  One  of  the  bishoprics  was  to  be  located  at  Concep 
tion,  where  there  were  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons,  and 
where  beneath  the  cannons  of  the  fort  the  pastor  would  have 
ample  protection  against  the  hostile  attacks  of  his  intended  flock. 
The  remaining  see  was  to  be  erected  at  Larez,  a  newly  projected 
city,  founded  by  Ovando  himself,  where  his  interests  would  be 
greatly  promoted  by  the  advantages  of  having  a  resident  bishop, 
where  permanency  and  prosperity  would  thus  be  secured  to  his 
enterprise,  and  his  prospective  properties  developed.  In  fact, 
the  project  seemed  to  assume  the  aspect  of  a  speculation,  and 
that,  too,  by  an  official  of  the  government,  and  to  be  based  upon 
the  credit  of  the  Church.  Not  satisfied  with  what  he  had  done, 
Columbus,  in  the  midst  of  his  poverty,  secured  by  the  aid  and 
credit  of  a  few  friends  sufficient  funds  for  sending  his  brother, 
Don  Bartholomew  Columbus,  to  Rome,  where  he.  communicated 
the  admiral's  views  to  the  Pope,  and  where,  in  1505,  he  published 
a  history  of  the  admiral's  first  voyage,  together  with  a  chart  of 
his  discoveries.  It  resulted  that  the  admiral's  remonstrances 
were  heeded  at  Rome,  though  not  at  the  Spanish  court  ;  the  bulls 
were  not  forwarded,  notwithstanding  the  entreaties  of  the  Span 
ish  ambassador.  The  Count  de  Lorgues  states  that  "  before  the 
Chief  of  the  Church  the  confidential  advice  of  Columbus  pre 
vailed  over  the  assertions  of  the  Spanish  crown  and  the  cunning 
of  diplomacy." 

An  interesting  visitor  now  called  upon  Columbus  at  Seville. 
This  was  Americus  Vespucius,  who  had  been  called  to  court  by 
the  king  in  relation  to  marine  affairs,  and  who  desired  now  to 
improve  the  personal  acquaintance  of  Columbus,  to  offer  his 
services,  and  perhaps  obtain  a  letter  of  introduction.  It  is  true 
that  Americus  Vespucius  had  first  appeared  on  the  scenes  of  the 
new  world  as  a  companion  of  Alonzo  de  Ojeda,  in  an  expedition 
to  Terra  Firma  fitted  out  under  Ferdinand's  general  license  and 
aided  by  Juan  de  Fonseca,  who  had  fraudulently  given  Ojeda  a 
copy  of  one  of  the  admiral's  charts  ;  and  though  the  expedition, 
in  its  conception  and  conduct  on  the  part  of  Ojeda,  was  little 


ON   COLUMBUS.  565 

better  than  a  marauding  adventure,  still  Columbus,  not  given  to 
ungenerous  or  narrow  conduct,  knew  well  that  Americus  was 
not  responsible  for  the  conduct  of  Ojeda,  that  the  expedition  was 
licensed  by  the  king  and  Fonseca,  and  his  acquaintance  with  his 
visitor  for  several  years  had  not  unfavorably  impressed  him. 
He  received  Americus  kindly,  accepted  his  proffered  services, 
and  gave  him  a  letter  of  introduction  to  his  son  Diego  at  court, 
in  which  he  calls  him  "  a  very  good  man."  He  authorized  his 
friends  at  court  to  accept  the  services  of  Americus,  though  he 
enjoins  secrecy  in  this,  as  though  it  would  injure  any  one  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  the  fallen  admiral  if-  it  became  known. 
Little  did  Columbus  then  imagine,  when  he  gave  this  letter  to 
Americus  Vespucius,  that  he  was  destined,  though  not  de 
signedly  on  his  part,  to  carry  away  from  him  the  glory  of  giving 
his  name  to  the  new  world.  The  history  of  this  interesting  ques 
tion  I  have  already  given  in  a  previous  chapter. 

Wearied  at  the  refusal  of  the  king  to  answer  any  of  his  re 
peated  letters,  the  admiral  now  determined  again  to  make  the 
effort  of  going  to  court,  in  the  hope  that  his  presence  might  prove 
more  efficacious.  The  most  easy  way  for  him  to  travel  was  on 
a  mule  "  saddled  and  bridled,"  as  the  gait  is  quieter  than  that  of 
a  horse  ;  but  as  it  was  forbidden  by  law  to  use  mules  in  the 
saddle,  he  applied  for  and  obtained  the  permission  of  the  king  to 
travel  in  that  manner.  Though  the  permit  was  obtained  on 
February  23,  he  was  not  able  to  take  the  trip  until  May.  In  the 
mean  time,  he  passed  the  Lenten  season  in  Seville,  and  at  his 
advanced  age  and  with  his  infirm  health  he  rigidly  kept  the  fast, 
followed  the  strict  observances  of  the  Franciscans,  and  relaxed 
none  of  his  austerities,  though  he  was  unable  to  leave  his  bed, 
and  was  spent  with  age,  disease,  and  adversities.  In  May  he 
started  on  his  trip,  mounted  on  a  mule.  He  was  taken  ill  at  Sala 
manca,  but  finally,  after  much  suffering,  he  reached  Segovia, 
where  the  court  was  then  held.  Ferdinand  received  the  man  he 
had  so  much  injured  with  politeness  and  even  with  apparent 
favor  and  pleasure,  but  the  admiral's  title  of  viceroy  and  the 
respect  due  to  his  rank  had  disappeared  on  the  death  of  the 
queen.  This  certainly  was  significant  ;  to  the  sanguine  mind  of 
Columbus  it  was  conclusive.  The  king  listened  politely  to  his 
recital  of  his  last  voyage,  of  the  mines  of  Veragua,  of  his  ship 
wreck  at  Jamaica,  his  abandonment  by  Ovando,  the  revolt  of 


566  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

Porras,  and  his  indignities  received  at  the  hands  of  Ovando. 
The  king  was  polite  but  non-committal,  and  while  he  acknowl 
edged  the  obligation  of  gratitude  on  the  part  of  the  crown,  the 
cold  and  selfish  Ferdinand  found  a  way  of  terminating  the  inter 
view  without  granting  redress.  To  a  reminder  a  few  days  after 
ward,  which  the  king  received  from  Columbus,  he  replied  in  a 
polite  and  cold  manner,  preserved  a  chilling  courtesy  and  re 
serve,  and  significantly  referred  to  the  admiral's  gout  and  rheu 
matism,  with  recommendations  to  take  good  care  of  himself,  and 
even  mentioned  the  appropriate  medicines  for  him  to  take. 
Ferdinand  had  a  significant  nod  by  which  he  could  always  ter 
minate  an  interview. 

The  courtesy  under  which  Ferdinand  endeavored  to  conceal 
his  true  sentiments  could  not  deceive  the  discerning  and  anxious 
eye  of  Columbus.  He  read  the  king's  heart,  and  his  coldness 
made  him  feel  more  than  ever  the  loss  of  his  friend  and  queen, 
the  noble  Isabella.  After  his  repeated  letters  to  the  king,  with 
a  constant  representation  at  court  in  the  persons  of  his  sons, 
his  brother  Bartholomew,  his  faithful  friends  Diego  Mendez, 
Alonzo  Sanchez  de  Carvajal,  and  Geronimo,  and  the  services  of 
Americus  Vespucius,  and  with  the  known  friendship  for  him  of 
Archbishop  de  Deza  of  Seville,  who  had  formerly  been  the 
learned  Dominican  friar  that  defended  his  proposals  before  the 
Council  of  Salamanca,  he  had  failed  to  gain  justice  from  the  king 
— what  more  than  they  had  said  in  his  behalf  could  the  admiral 
now  say  ?  His  venerable  and  dejected  appearance,  his  eloquence 
in  pleading  the  most  just  of  causes,  did  not  move  the  selfish 
Ferdinand.  His  friend  De  Deza  had  been  promoted  from  the 
bishopric  of  Palencia  to  the  archbishopric  of  Seville,  while  his 
enemy,  Fonseca,  had  been  transferred  from  the  bishopric  of 
Cordova  and  appointed  to  succeed  De  Deza  as  Bishop  of  Palencia. 
Columbus,  ever  thoughtful  of  every  measure  for  gaining  his 
cause,  had  sent  his  son  on  an  embassy  to  Archbishop  de  Deza, 
and  now,  on  the  promotion  of  Fonseca,  he  had  written  to  his  son 
to  present  his  congratulations  to  the  new  Bishop  of  Palencia, 
thus  showing  a  superiority  to  all  personal  animosities  as  well  as 
a  desire  to  remove  or  smooth  down  all  impediments  to  his  attain 
ing  justice  from  the  crown.  This  same  prelate  and  official, 
Bishop  Fonseca,  was  known  to  be  the  most  influential  and  potent 


ON   COLUMBUS.  567 

enemy  the  admiral  had,  the  most  implacable,  and  the  one  who 
had  done  him  the  greatest  amount  of  injury. 

After  the  death  of  Isabella  there  was  a  rumor  that  she  had 
mentioned  Columbus  in  her  will,  and  he  took  fresh  hope  from 
this  circumstance.  The  rumor  was  a  false  one,  though  it  is  the 
opinion  of  historians  that  she  refrained  from  doing  so  not  from 
any  indifference  to  his  just  rights  and  claims,  but  from  motives 
of  delicacy  ;  for  it  was  believed  that  such  mention  of  him  would 
not  have  aided  his  cause,  while  it  might  have  stimulated  the 
malice  and  machinations  of  his  enemies.  If  she  had  in  her  will 
requested  the  king  to  have  regard  for  the  rights  of  the  admiral, 
would  the  husband  who  had  made  a  promise  to  his  dying  queen 
that,  in  charity  for  the  poor  persecuted  natives  of  Hispaniola,  he 
would  remove  Ovando,  their  persecutor,  without  delay,  and  had 
violated  such  a  sacred  promise — would  such  a  husband  have  ful 
filled  a  request  relating  to  Columbus  contained  in  her  will  ?  He 
had  already  put  his  hand  and  seal,  in  conjunction  with  the  queen, 
to  a  convention  conceding  to  the  admiral  certain  offices,  titles, 
rights,  revenues,  and  prerogatives,  and  he  had  again  ratified 
the  same,  and  when  suspended  had  promised  to  restore  them  ; 
would  any  obligation  have  bound  such  a  king  against  his  inter 
ests  ?  The  cause  of  Columbus  did  not  go  against  him  by  default. 
He  fully  comprehended  his  rights,  and  there  was  never  a 
moment,  even  during  the  perils  of  his  shipwreck  and  exile  on  the 
savage  coast  of  Jamaica,  and  up  to  the  moment  of  his  death,  that 
he  did  not  earnestly  and  resolutely  demand  their  restitution. 
The  learned  and  judicious  Tarducci,  referring  to  Isabella's  un 
willingness,  from  motives  of  delicacy,  to  formally  impose  her 
wishes  in  regard  to  Columbus  on  her  husband  by  her  will,  con 
cludes  by  saying,  "  But  I  have  no  doubt  that,  with  her  dying 
words  to  Ferdinand,  she  fulfilled  the  last  duties  of  a  tender 
friendship  and  of  a  loyal  and  just  sovereign  toward  the  discov 
erer  of  the  new  world."  *  Crippled  in  his  hands  by  his  unrelent 
ing  malady,  he  could  only  use  them  for  conducting  his  important 
and  voluminous  correspondence  in  the  dark  and  gloomy  hours 
of  the  night,  in  which  depressing  hours  his  pen  was  busy  with 
the  protests  and  reclamations  he  unceasingly  made  for  justice. 
It  was  just  before  he  went  to  court  mounted  on  a  mule  that  the 


*  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  355. 


568  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

ships  arrived  from  Hispaniola  laden  with  gold  for  the  king  and 
many  others,  but  with  not  a  grain  of  gold  for  the  sufferer.  It  was 
on  this  occasion  that  he  wrote  to  his  son  at  court,  "  Never  was 
such  injustice  known  ;  60,000  pesos  left  for  me  have  disappeared. 
The  treatment  which  Columbus  received  from  the  king  was  the 
common  talk  of  Seville,  outside  of  the  circle  of  his  enemies. 
Great  and  sincere  was  the  sympathy  felt  and  expressed  for  him 
and  his  wrongs.  It  is  supposed  that  this  sentiment  and  influence 
led  Americus  Vespucius  to  make  a  pilgrimage  of  sympathy  to 
the  great  discoverer. 

Discouraged  as  he  was  by  the  coldness  and  indifference  of  the 
king,  Columbus  never  desisted  from  demanding  his  rights. 
Some  days  after  his  interview  he  addressed  a  letter  to  that  end 
to  the  king,  couched  in  language  remarkable  for  its  truthfulness, 
firmness,  and  candor,  of  which  the  first  passage  will  convey  an 
idea  of  its  tone  :  "  Most  Potent  King  :  God  our  Lord  sent  me 
hither  miraculously  to  serve  your  Highness.  I  say  miraculously, 
for  I  had  presented  my  undertaking  to  the  King  of  Portugal, 
who  was  more  intent  upon  discoveries  than  any  one  else,  and 
yet,  in  my  case,  his  eyes,  ears,  and -all  his  senses  were  so  closed 
that  in  fourteen  years  I  was  unable  to  make  him  understand  un 
meaning.  I  say  miraculously  also,  because  I  received  from  three 
princes  letters  of  invitation,  which  the  queen  (whom  may  God 
have  in  His  glory)  saw,  and  Dr.  Villalano  read.  .  .  ."*  This 
trenchant  letter  received  a  reply  from  Ferdinand  at  once  wily 
and  insincere  ;  the  obligations  of  Spain  to  the  admiral  were 
admitted,  but  as  his  claims  embraced  so  many  different  things, 
such  as  titles,  government,  pecuniary  interests,  accounts,  indem 
nification,  and  other  matters,  it  was  necessary  to  submit  them  to 
the  judgment  of  some  discreet  and  able  person.  Columbus 
readily  consented  to  this  arbitration,  and  he  suggested  Father 
de  Deza,  a  friend  of  himself  and  a  favorite  of  the  king  ;  but  he 
expressly  declined  to  arbitrate  his  restitution  to  offices,  dignities, 
and  titles,  and  the  government  of  the  Indies,  for  these  he  held 
under  the  signatures  of  his  sovereigns  already  ;  and  more  than 
that  he  could  not  get,  as  the  signatures  of  the  king  and  queen 


*  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  357  ;  "  Colonial 
Documents."  by  Navarrete,  pi.  i.,  No.  Iviii.  ;  Barry's  De  Lorgues*  "  Columbus,"  p.  525  ; 
Irving's  "Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  472. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  569 

showed  he  was  already  entitled  to  them.  The  insincerity  arid 
want  of  good  faith  on  the  part  of  the  king  are  manifest  from  the 
fact  that  he  always  defeated  what  he  professed  to  be  willing  to 
agree  to,  by  annexing  in  each  case  a  condition  which  he  knew 
Columbus  would  not  and  could  not  accept — the  submission  of  his 
right  to  the  government  of  the  Indies.  Of  course  the  proposed 
arbitration  fell  through;  as  it  was  evidently  the  king's  intention 
that  it  should.  While  the  admiral  repeatedly  begged  and  urged 
his  rights  and  claims,  Ferdinand  coolly  smiled  each  time,  and 
promised  that  he  would  consider  them.  This  is  not  matter  of 
inference,  nor  one  resting  on  the  common  voice  of  history  ;  but 
the  statement  of  the  royal  perfidy  rests  upon  the  testimony  of  a 
distinguished  and  conscientious  contemporary,  the  good  and 
loyal  Las  Casas,  who  wrote,  "  But  as  to  actions,  the  king  not 
only  showed  him  no  signs  of  favor,  but,  on  the  contrary,  placed 
every  obstacle  in  the  way  ;  and  at  the  same  time  was  never 
wanting  in  complimentary  expressions." 

This  venerable,  aged,  and  enfeebled  admiral  and  discoverer 
despaired  of  getting  even  a  show  of  justice  ;  he  became  dis 
heartened.  He  thought  he  might  secure  something,  now  at  least 
while  he  was  alive,  by  offering,  as  he  did  in  positive  terms,  to 
leave  everything  to  the  king's  generosity,  assuring  him  that  he 
had  no  desire  to  become  involved  in  lawsuits  with  his  own 
sovereign.  He  only  begged  for  some  decision  to  be  made 
promptly,  that  he  might  see  the  end  of  his  disappointments  and 
sufferings,  and  secure  some  repose  to  his  declining  years.  The 
king  replied  now  in  somewhat  explicit  terms,  but  they  were 
only  words.  He  said  he  entertained  no  intention  of  depriving 
himself  of  the  admiral's  services  ;  that  he  would  give  him  full 
satisfaction  ;  that  he  could  never  forget  that  he  owed  the  posses 
sion  of  the  Indies  to  him,  and  that  he  would  not  only  give  him 
what  was  his  legal  due,  but  would  remunerate  his  great  ser 
vices  from  the  estates  of  the  crown.  After  such  an  explicit 
promise  and  pledge  Columbus  felt  in  duty  and  respect  bound  to 
believe  the  truth  off  his  own  sovereign,  and  to  silently  await  his 
action. 

The  perfidy  of  Ferdinand  was  so  glaring,  that  the  sympathies 
of  all  honest  Spaniards  were  with  the  subject  and  against  the 
sovereign.  If  he  had  followed  the  court  from  city  to  city  when 
he  was  a  suppliant  for  recognition  and  for  a  chance  to  serve 


570  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS. 

Spain  in  a  signal  manner,  he  was  now  still  more  obliged  to  pursue 
King  Ferdinand  from  place  to  place,  petitioning  for  justice  for 
signal  services  already  rendered.  It  was  not  the  question  now 
of  adopting  Columbus's  proposals  for  the  discovery  of  a  new 
world  ;  it  was  a  matter  of  rendering  what  he  had  promised  and 
justly  owed  the  discoverer.  At  every  turn  he  received  from  the 
king  nothing  but  cold  smiles  and  courteous  words.  Was  it  not 
a  shallow  evasion  of  justice  to  refer  the  matter  to  the  Junta  de 
Descargos,  a  tribunal  expressly  appointed  to  carry  into  effect 
the  will  and  discharge  the  obligations  of  the  deceased  queen, 
since  the  judges  were  appointed  by  the  king,  were  his  depend 
ents,  and  as  they  could  not,  without  open  scandal,  decide  against 
Columbus,  so  they  could  not,  without  offending  the  king,  decide 
against  his  known  wishes  ?  The  king  prevented  a  decision. 
This  junta  with  equal  evasion  did  nothing  but  inflict  delay  upon 
Columbus.  How  could  it  be  alleged  in  extenuation  of  Ferdi 
nand's  injustice  to  Columbus,  that  the  vastness  of  the  concessions 
stipulated  in  his  favor  now  exceeded  all  possible  anticipations, 
since  the  Indies  far  exceeded  in  extent  and  wealth  Spain  itself, 
and  it  would  be  making  a  subject  equal  to  a  sovereign  ?  The 
answer  is  too  obvious,  and  is  twofold  :  First,  were  not  the  domin 
ions  themselves  out  of  which  the  concessions  were  to  be  satisfied 
proportionately  increased,  and  was  not  the  sovereign  himselt  the 
gainer  by  the  excess  rather  than  the  subject?  Second,  could 
dishonesty  be  resorted  to  in  any  event  from  a  mere  question  of 
convenience  ?  It  was  equivalent  to  saying,  We  owe  him  justly 
too  much,  therefore  we  will  pay  him  nothing.  Perhaps  the  king 
desired  to  consult  his  daughter,  the  Princess  Juana.  Then  why 
repeat  and  renew  his  promises,  and  why  deny  justice  on  such  a 
pretext  ?  The  very  delay  became  a  vital  issue,  since  the  life  of 
Columbus  was  passing  rapidly  away.  Conscience  had  no  weight 
with  Ferdinand  ;  but  why  should  he  sully  his  name  with  such  an 
infamy  as  this  ?  The  entire  Indies,  so  far  exceeding  all  anticipa 
tions,  with  all  their  gold  and  pearls  and  wealth,  were  not  worth 
an  immunity  from  payment  purchased  at  the  cost  of  such  dis 
honor. 

From  Segovia,  where  the  admiral  had  attended  upon  the  pre 
tended  deliberations  of  the  Junta  de  Descargos,  and  where  the 
tactics  of  his  enemies  at  Seville  had  been  followed  with  the  same 
cruelty,  Columbus  followed  the  court  to  Valladolid.  At  the 


ON  COLUMBUS.  5/1 

latter  place  the  venerable  supplicant  was  again  confined  to  his 
bed.  Here,  however,  he  wrote  another  urgent  letter  to  the 
king,  submitting  all  his  rights  to  the  king's  generosity,  only 
begging  that  his  son  Diego  might  be  appointed  to  the  govern 
ment  of  the  Indies.  His  days  now  but  few,  his  aspirations  seemed 
confined  to  securing  for  his  son  and  family  at  least  this  recogni 
tion  of  his  services.  In  his  letter  to  the  king  he  writes  :  "  It  is 
a  matter  that  concerns  my  honor.  Your  Majesty  may  do  as  you 
think  proper  with  all  the  rest  ;  give  or  take,  as  may  appear  for 
your  advantage,  and  I  shall  be  satisfied.  I  believe  that  the 
worry  caused  by  the  delay  of  my  suit  is  the  main  cause  of  my  ill 
health." 

Simultaneously  with  the  above  letter  of  Columbus  to  the  king, 
he  caused  his  son  Diego  to  lay  before  the  monarch  a  petition 
containing  the  same  requests,  and  proposing  that  councillors  be 
appointed  by  the  king  himself  to  assist  him  in  the  administration 
of  Hispaniola  with  their  advice.  This  simply  elicited  from  the 
selfish  and  perfidious  ruler  the  usual  empty  promises,  which,  as 
often  broken  as  made,  had  now  filled  the  measure  of  the  admiral's 
sorrows  and  of  the  public  disgust.  Las  Casas  boldly  asserts 
that  the  king's  policy  was  to  weary  and  harass  the  illustrious 
petitioner  by  delay  into  a  renunciation  of  his  just  claims  and  the 
acceptance  of  Castilian  titles  and  estates  in  commutation.  This 
view  is  confirmed  by  the  evidence  of  an  offer  from  the  king  to 
Columbus  of  the  fief  of  Carrion  de  los  Condes  and  a  pension. 
Columbus  indignantly  refused  the  unworthy  offer.  Surely  it 
was  not  for  this  he  had  discovered  the  new  world.  Such  was 
the  dishonorable  and  unjust  conduct  of  Ferdinand  throughout, 
that  he  has  laid  himself  open  to  the  just  suspicion  of  only  waiting 
for  the  admiral's  death  to  be  relieved  of  importunity.  The 
admiral  himself  has  given  utterance  in  the  above-quoted  letter  to 
the  king  to  the  fact  that  his  delays  of  justice  had  caused  the 
present  condition  of  his  health.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  Ferdi 
nand's  injustice  hastened  and  contributed  to  the  death  of  Colum 
bus.  The  latter  now  lost  all  hope.  From  his  bed  of  sickness 
now,  at  Valladolid,  he  addressed  to  his  good  friend,  Archbishop 
Diego  de  Deza,  these  stinging  words  :  "  It  seems  that  his  High 
ness  does  not  think  fit  to  fulfil  the  promises  which  I  received 
from  him  and  the  queen  (who  is  now  in  the  bosom  of  glory), 
under  the  faith  of  their  word  and  seal.  To  contend  against  his 


572  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

will  would  be  contending  against  the  wind.  I  have  done  all  that 
I  ought  to  have  done,  and  leave  the  rest  to  God."  The  echo  of 
these  indignant  words  of  the  great  discoverer  and  benefactor  of 
Spain  is  repeated  in  our  own  time  by  the  universal  voice  of  his 
tory,  as  expressed  by  the  following  indignant  passage  from  the 
classic  pen  of  our  distinguished  countryman,  Mr.  Irving  :  "  The 
cold  and  calculating  Ferdinand  beheld  this  illustrious  man  sink 
ing  under  infirmity  of  body,  heightened  by  that  deferred  hope 
which  maketh  the  heart  sick.  A  little  more  delay,  a  little  more 
disappointment,  and  a  little  more  infliction  of  ingratitude,  and 
this  loyal  and  generous  heart  would  cease  to  beat  ;  he  should 
then  be  delivered  from  the  just  claims  of  a  well-tried  servant, 
who,  in  ceasing  to  be  useful,  was  considered  by  him  to  have 
become  importunate."* 

The  admiral  entertained  now  the  hope — it  was  his  last  hope — 
that  Ferdinand  might  be  delaying  in  order  to  consult  the  new 
Queen  of  Castile,  the  Infanta  Juana,  who  succeeded  her  mother 
in  the  government  of  that  kingdom,  hoping  to  find  that  she  had 
inherited  the  virtues  and  rectitude  of  her  illustrious  mother,  and 
that  he  would  find  in  her  that  justice  which  had  been  denied  him 
by  her  father.  The  new  queen  arrived  accompanied  by  her 
royal  consort,  and  was  met  at  Laredo  by  Ferdinand  and  his 
entire  court.  Columbus,  as  if  inspired  with  the  fire,  energy, 
ambition,  and  indomitable  spirit  of  his  stronger  days,  would  have 
gone  in  person  to  greet  the  new  sovereign  of  Castile.  A  new 
relapse  of  intense  violence  defeated  this  purpose.  His  brother, 
Don  Bartholomew,  in  his  stead,  presented  his  letter  of  congratu 
lation,  in  which  he  gave  the  assurances  of  his  best  loyalty  and 
services,  lamenting  the  disease  which  deprived  him  of  the  privi 
lege  of  going  in  person,  as  he  had  intended,  to  receive  the  queen, 
expressing  the  hope  of  yet  rendering  the  crown  most  valuable 
services,  and  expressing  the  same  petition  for  the  restoration  of 
his  rights.  Accorded  an  audience  by  the  two  sovereigns  on  May 
/th,  Don  .Bartholomew  obtained  a  hearing.  Ferdinand  was 
there  ;  he  was,  of  course,  the  master  spirit  of  the  occasion  ;  the 
royal  answer  was  given  in  promises,  and  accorded  with  the  per 
fidious  conduct  of  the  past — polite  attentions  and  promises  of 
speedy  action.  This  was  the  last  public  act  of  Columbus  ;  it  was 


*  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  476. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  573 

the  last  insult  Ferdinand  had  the  privilege  of  heaping-  upon  him. 
With  the  admiral,  this  last  expression  of  his  hope  and  confidence 
that  he  might  yet  accomplish  some  brilliant,  extraordinary,  and 
valuable  enterprises  for  his  sovereigns  and  his  country,  was  the 
last  flicker  of  the  exhausted  candle  ;  the  hope  was  dazzling,  the 
offer  was  magnanimous  ;  its  cold  and  deceptive  reception  was 
perfidious  !  It  was  of  Ferdinand  ! 

It  is  interesting  and  instructive  to  recall  the  expressions  of 
indignation  which  have  been  uttered  by  historians  at  the  ingrati 
tude  experienced  by  Columbus  from  his  king.  Tarducci  says  : 
'  The  long  years  spent  in  running  from  one  place  to  another  to 
beg  audience  of  kings,  ministers,  and  grandees  of  the  kingdom  ; 
the  mockery  and  scorn  with  which  he  was  received  and  repelled 
on  every  side  ;  the  struggles  he  underwent  in  support  of  his 
ideas  ;  the  fatigue,  perils,  and  distress  he  suffered  in  carrying 
them  out,  and  the  grandeur  of  his  achievements  and  the  enthu 
siasm  he  had  aroused  on  every  side  !  And  now,  after  enriching 
Spain  with  so  many  regions  and  such  treasures  as  no  human 
tongue  ever  told  of,  after  changing  by  his  discoveries  the  face 
of  the  known  world,  doubling  the  known  space  of  the  globe,  he 
was  now  groaning  in  abandonment  and  contempt,  in  a  wretched 
lodging-house,  and  had  to  beg  for  a  loan  of  money  to  buy  a  cot  to 
die  on  ;  and  those  who  had  ridiculed  his  undertaking  were  tri 
umphing  in  wealth  and  ease,  in  power  and  honor  !"  * 

The  following  eloquent  though  extravagantly  expressed  pas 
sage  from  the  Count  de  Lorgues  is  no  less  appropriate  in  this 
place  :  "  He  saw  disappearing  indefinitely  the  deliverance  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre — the  ardent  desire  of  his  whole  life — at  a  time 
when  everything  seemed  ready  for  its  realization.  Gold  now 
abounded,  and  every  new  arrival  promised  for  the  next  season 
greater  riches  ;  but  there  was  nothing  for  Columbus  !  What 
must  he  now  have  felt  in  his  heart  ?  Still  no  complaint  was  heard 
from  him.  Confining  in  the  depths  of  his  loneliness  the  bitter 
ness  of  his  sorrows,  he  offered  them  to  Him  who  had  borne  the 
cross.  This  calm  in  the  height  of  affliction,  does  it  not  reveal 
something  else  besides  virtue  ?  Can  we  find  in  history  an  ex 
ample  similar  to  it  ?  Philosophy  is  as  incapable  of  inspiring  as 
it  is  of  explaining  this  sublime  resignation.  It  was  because  the 


*  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  362. 


574  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

messenger  of  salvation  held  the  crucifix  before  his  eyes.  He 
remembered  that  our  Divine  Lord,  coming  to  bring  to  poor 
humanity  more  than  a  world,  and  more  than  all  the  worlds — the 
Truth,  the  Way,  and  the  Life — was  calumniated,  persecuted, 
bound  with  cords,  scourged,  given  as  a  spectacle  to  the  crowd, 
and  delivered  in  death,  notwithstanding  His  declared  innocence. 
Like  Him,  the  revealer  of  the  globe  remained  silent  ;  and,  like 
Him,  he  pardoned  his  enemies."  * 

What  could  be  more  just  than  the  following  sentiments  from 
Mr.  Irving  :  "  Attempts  have  been  made  in  recent  days  by  loyal 
Spanish  writers  to  vindicate  the  conduct  of  Ferdinand  toward 
Columbus.  They  were  doubtless  well  intended,  but  they  have 
been  futile  ;  nor  is  their  failure  to  be  regretted.  To  screen  such 
injustice  in  so  eminent  a  character  from  the  reprobation  of  man 
kind  is  to  deprive  history  of  one  of  its  most  important  uses.  Let 
the  ingratitude  of  Ferdinand'  stand  recorded  in  its  full  extent, 
and  endure  throughout  all  time.  The  dark  shadow  which  it 
casts  upon  his  brilliant  renown  will  be  a  lesson  to  all  rulers, 
teaching  them  what  is  important  to  their  own  fame  in  their 
treatment  of  illustrious  men."  f 

The  voices  of  many  other  eminent  historians,  raised  in  unison 
with  those  whose  language  I  have  given,  could  here  be  quoted 
in  proof  that  the  verdict  of  mankind  has  been  rendered  in  con 
demnation  of  the  ungrateful,  selfish,  unstatesmanlike,  disloyal, 
cruel,  and  deceptive  treatment  which  Ferdinand  extended  to 
Columbus.  In  proportion  as  the  king  realized  the  grandeur  of 
the  services  rendered  by  Columbus  he  should  have  honored  and 
rewarded  the  benefactor.  In  proportion  as  the  countries  he 
discovered  proved  vast  and  almost  unbounded,  his  gratitude  to 
the  discoverer  should  have  increased.  In  proportion  as  the 
riches  of  the  Indies  poured  into  the  lap  of  Spain  and  into  the 
royal  exchequer,  so  should  have  been  increased  the  reward  of 
the  man  who  gave  them  to  his  country.  The  very  grasping 
tenacity  with  which  Ferdinand  held  on  to  all  he  had  gained  by 
Columbus,  proves  that  he  knew  better  than  any  one  the  value  of 
his  gains.  When  he  promised  titles,  honors,  dignities,  estates, 
revenues,  and  jurisdictions  to  Columbus,  all  was  conjectural  and 


*  Dr.  Barry's  translation  of  De  Lorgues'  "  Columbus,"  p.  531. 
f  Irving's  "  Life  of  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  483. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  575 

speculative  ;  the  reward  was  made  conditional  upon  success  ; 
now  that  success  was  attained,  the  benefits  were  sordidly  grasped 
and  the  promised  rewards  cruelly  withheld.  Could  human  per 
fidy,  ingratitude,  or  baseness  exceed  this  ?  Retributive  justice 
is  to  be  recognized  as  a  feature  in  God's  government  of  the 
world  ;  and  why  should  it  not  be  ?  Events  are  so  startling  ! 
The  splendid  possessions  of  Spain,  which  she  got  by  the  genius 
and  services  of  Columbus,  and  for  which  she  refused  to  com 
pensate  him  even  as  she  had  promised,  have  been  wrested  from 
her  grasp  ;  and  Cuba,  the  Queen  of  the  Antilles,  remains  only  as 
a  mere  souvenir  of  her  former  vast  and  opulent  possessions. 
Who  does  not  recognize  the  justice  of  the  retribution  ?  In  the 
mean  time,  Columbus  receives  the  homage  of  mankind. 

When  we  contemplate  the  magnificent  achievements  of  Colum 
bus — his  vast  discoveries,  his  genius,  his  enterprise,  his  labors, 
his  originality,  the  world-wide  scope  of  his  undertakings,  from 
the  discovery  of  a  new  world  to  the  rescue  of  the  Holy  Land  and 
the  conversion  of  all  nations  to  Christianity— it  is  hard  to  realize 
and  humiliating  to  record  the  fate  of  such  a  man.  Still  more 
abhorrent  to  our  sense  of  justice  that  such  a  benefactor  of  his 
country  and  of  his  kind  should  have  died  in  neglect,  poverty, 
distress,  and  injustice. 

While  Don  Bartholomew,  his  brother,  was  making  the  last 
appeal  for  him  in  the  presence  of  royalty,  Christopher  Columbus 
felt  that  his  malady  was  growing  alarming,  and  that  his  end  was 
near.  In  the  denial  of  all  earthly  rewards,  this  devout  Christian 
now  looked  confidently  yet  humbly  only  for  the  rewards  of 
heaven.  Few  death-beds  recorded  in  history  have  been  so  re 
assuring,  so  dignified,  so  heroic  as  that  of  Columbus.  As  his 
disease  became  daily  more  alarming,  he  realized  the  approach  of 
death.  On  May  I9th  he  perceived  that  the  end  was  at  hand. 
Calling  to  his  aid  all  the  resources  of  grace  and  all  the  promised 
rewards  of  virtue,  he  heroically  and  calmly  resigned  himself  to 
the  inevitable.  With  a  calmness  that  we  have  often  seen  him 
exercise  in  the  most  trying  circumstances,  he  first  determined  to 
provide  for  his  family  and  for  his  descendants  by  a  proper  dis 
position  of  his  affairs  in  this  world.  His  whole  testamentary 
disposition  was  the  work  of  different  times  and  of  different  epochs 
of  his  life.  His  first  will  was  made  in  1498,  and  now  he  made  a 
codicil  to  it  before  his  approaching  death.  In  1502  he  also  made 


5/6  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

a  will,  which  he  confided  to  his  friend,  Father  Gaspar  Gorricio, 
a  Carthusian  monk.  This  will  has  never  come  to  light,  and  is 
supposed  to  have  been  suppressed  by  the  admiral's  family  shortly 
after  his  death  for  prudential  reasons.  These  reasons  are  left  to 
conjecture.  When  he  made  his  first  will  in  1498  he  was  in  the 
zenith  of  prosperity  and  glory,  and  in  it  he  poured  forth  the 
sentiments  of  gratitude  toward  the  Spanish  sovereigns,  much  in 
keeping  with  his  generous  nature.  But  in  1502  his  star  was  on 
the  wane  ;  he  had  already  experienced  the  ingratitude  of  his 
king  ;  and  it  is  supposed  that  he  omitted  these  expressions  from 
the  new  will  then  made,  for  he  was  then  smarting  under  the  in 
justice  done  him  in  sending  Aguado,  Bobadilla,  and  Ovando  in 
succession  to  Hispaniola,  his  imprisonment  and  chains,  and  his 
suspension  from  power  ;  and  it  is  conjectured  that  he  spoke  with 
bitterness  even  of  the  treatment  he  had  received.  In  1505  he 
made  a  codicil,  dated  August  25th,  in  which  he  firmly  asserts  that 
he  "  had  made  them  [the  king  and  queen]  a  present  of  the  Indies, 
as  a  thing  of  his  own,  and  claims  the  right  to  reject  the  line  of 
division  agreed  upon  between  Spain  and  Portugal ;  and  he  asserts 
the  correctness  of  his  own  line,  which  was  established  by  the 
Pope — the  papal  line  of  demarcation.  It  is  also  said  that  on  May 
4th,  probably  in  the  paroxysms  of  intense  suffering,  he  made  an 
informal  codicil  in  his  own  hand,  and  written  on  the  blank  page 
of  a  little  breviary  given  to  him  by  Pope  Alexander  VI.  Mr. 
Irving  states  that  Columbus  made  a  codicil  to  his  will  about 
May  i gth,  1506,  the  day  before  his  death  ;  but  this  is  denied  by 
the  Count  de  Lorgues,  and  the  fact  is  alluded  to  in  a  general 
way  only  by  Tarducci,  who  simply  says,  "  Sending  for  a  notary, 
Columbus  placed  in  his  hands  a  codicil." 

The  general  result  of  the  testamentary  disposition  of  Colum 
bus  may  be  stated  thus  :  His  son  Diego  is  constituted  his  uni 
versal  heir,  and  the  entailed  inheritance  or  mayorazgo,  in  the 
event  of  his  death  without  male  issue,  was  given  to  his  brother, 
Don  Fernando,  and  in  the  like  case  with  him,  it  was  given  to  his 
uncle,  Don  Bartholomew  Columbus,  descending  always  to  the 
nearest  male  heir,  and  on  failure  of  the  male  line  it  was  to  de 
scend  to  the  female  nearest  in  lineage  to  the  admiral.  The  in 
heritor  of  the  estate  was  enjoined  against  alienating  or  diminish 
ing  it,  but  rather  to  increase  its  revenues,  and  he  was  also  admon 
ished  promptly  at  all  times  to  respond  to  every  duty  of  service 


ON   COLUMBUS.  577 

to  the  crown  of  Spain,  and  to  promote  the  Christian  faith.  One 
tenth  of  the  revenues  of  the  estate  enjoyed  by  Don  Diego  was  to 
be  devoted  to  the  relief  of  the  poor  members  of  the  family  and 
others  in  need,  but  not  until  the  estate  had  become  productive  ; 
and  from  the  bulk  of  the  estate's  revenues  ample  provision  was 
made  for  Don  Fernando  and  for  Don  Bartholomew.  The  will 
also  provided  for  the  erection  of  a  chapel  at  the  town  of  Concep 
tion,  in  the  Vega,  Hispaniola,  after  the  estate  had  become  suffi 
cient  for  that  and  all  other  purposes,  and  that  a  hospital  should 
be  connected  with  it  ;  and  in  such  chapel  masses  should  be  said 
perpetually  for  the  repose  of  the  souls  of  himself,  his  ancestors, 
and  his  posterity.  He  provided  for  the  poor  of  his  lineage  and 
family  ;  for  the  maintenance  and  residence  of  one  member  of  the 
Columbus  family  and  his  wife  at  Genoa  ;  for  the  enlistment  and 
equipment  of  an  army  for  the  recovery  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  ; 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  Spanish  sovereigns 
and  their  successors,  arid  for  the  aid  of  the  Church  and  of  the 
Holy  See  in  case  of  schism  or  other  trouble.  The  provisions  were 
munificent  in  proportion  to  the  grand  expectations  which  Colum 
bus  entertained  as  to  the  just  revenues  from  his  estates,  proper 
ties,  and  offices  in  the  new  world.  The  will  was  substantially  a 
renewal  or  confirmation  of  his  will  of  1497-98.  So  scrupulous 
was  the  illustrious  testator  in  discharging  every  minute  money 
obligation  he  had  ever  contracted,  even  those  of  gratitude,  that 
he  provided,  among  others,  for  the  repayment  of  an  assistance 
he  had  many  years  before  received  from  a  poor  Jew  of  Lisbon, 
whom,  on  his  not  remembering  his  name,  he  described  as  living 
near  the  Jewry  Gate. 

Columbus  received  all  the  sacraments  and  rites  of  the  Church 
devoutly  from  the  hands  of  his  friends,  the  Franciscans,  for 
which  he  asked  for  the  last  time.  His  death  occurred  at  Valla- 
dolid  on  the  feast  of  the  Ascension,  May  2oth,  1506.  Such  was 
the  obscurity  to  which  the  neglect  of  his  king  had  consigned  the 
admiral  that  no  notice  of  his  death  can  be  found  in  the  contem 
porary  chronicles  of  Valladolid.  '  It  is  hard  to  conceive,"  says 
Justin  Winsor,  "  how  the  fame  of  a  man,  over  whose  acts  in  1493 
learned  men  cried  for  joy,  and  by  whose  deeds  the  adventurous 
spirit  had  been  stirred  in  every  seaport  of  Western  Europe, 
should  have  so  completely  passed  into  oblivion."  Even  Peter 
Martyr,  who  wrote  so  much  of  the  stirring  events  of  his  career. 


578  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

did  not  mention  his  death,  although  about  the  time  of  its  occur 
rence  he  wrote  five  long  and  newsy  letters  from  Valladolid. 
Montalboddo,  \vho  wrote  an  account  of  Columbus's  early  voy 
ages,  and  revised  it  in  1507,  had  not  even  heard  of  his  death. 
Madrignano,  who  translated  the  same  work  into  Latin  in  1508, 
had  not  heard  of  it.  The  Cronicon  de  Valladolid,  extending  from 
!333  t°  !539>  though  containing  the  most  minute  details  of  local 
interest,  makes  no  mention  of  the  death  of  Christopher  Colum 
bus  for  the  year  1506.* 

In  the  modest  and  austere  chamber  in  which  he  died  there 
were  hanging,  according  to  general  tradition,  upon  the  walls  the 
chains  which  Columbus  wore  when  he  was  brought  back  to  Spain 
a  prisoner,  and  by  his  express  request  his  chains  were  buried 
with  him.  The  chains,  however,  were  not  found  among  his 
relics  at  the  times  of  their  several  removals.  The  illustrious 
patient  wore  in  his  last  hours  the  brown  habit  of  St.  Francis. 
His  two  sons,  some  of  his  officers  and  friends,  and  the  Franciscan 
Fathers  attended  the  last  moments  of  the  expiring  admiral,  and 
gave  him  every  consolation  which  religion  alone  affords  in  that 
supreme  crisis.  He  addressed  some  edifying  exhortations  to 
those  present.  His  mental  faculties  were  clear  to  the  last.  He 
asked  for  the  sacraments  of  the  Church,  and  audibly  joined  in 
the  prayers  with  which  they  were  administered.  He  responded 
to  the  prayers  for  the  dying  as  recited  by  the  Franciscans.  His 
last  words  were,  "  In  manus  tuas,  Domine,  commcndo  spiritum 
meutn'  ("  Into  Thy  hands,  O  Lord,  I  commend  my  spirit  !"). 

The  body  of  Columbus  was  carried  to  the  Cathedral  Church 
of  Valladolid,  and  there  received  the  most  modest  obsequies  ; 
thence  the  Franciscans  carried  his  remains  and  deposited  them 
in  the  vault  of  their  convent  of  Minors  Observantines  in  the  same 
city.  Thus,  as  the  Count  de  Lorgues  observes,  "  Columbus, 
who  first  found  an  asylum  among  the  Franciscans,  received  from 
them  the  last  hospitality."  The  placing  of  his  chains  in  his 
coffin,  as  related  above,  was  not  only  in  accordance  with  his  own 
wishes,  but  was  also  in  conformity  with  ancient  custom,  whereby 
in  mediaeval  times  the  relics  of  saints  and  martyrs  were  accom 
panied  with  vials  of  their  blood,  the  instruments  of  their  torture, 
or  images  of  them.  Not  only  was  his  death  unmentioned  in  con- 


*  Mr.  Brownson's  translation  of  Tarducci's  "Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  365. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  579 

temporary  Spanish  documents,  but  in  following  years  he  was 
mentioned  as  still  living  in  works  published  in  other  countries  of 
Europe. 

At  the  court  of  Ferdinand  his  name  was  forgotten,  only  to  be 
recalled  once  by  the  king  with  frigid  ceremony,  when  on  June 
2d,  1506,  he  ordered  the  gold  and  other  objects  of  the  admiral 
to  be  sent  to  his  son,  Don  Diego,  without  giving  the  least  ex 
pression  to  any  sentiment  of  regret,  gratitude,  or  honor  for  his 
memory.  But  as  the  progress  of  discoveries  in  the  great  fields 
pointed  out  by  Columbus  revealed  more  .and  more  every  year 
the  grandeur  and  vastness  of  his  discoveries  and  services,  an 
immense  glory  was  accorded  to  his  name,  and  Ferdinand  was 
aroused  by  the  expanding  fame  of  his  great  achievements  to 
make  some  tardy  and  reluctant  concessions  to  public  sentiment. 
He  ordered  the  remains  of  the  admiral  to  be  removed  with  pomp 
and  ceremony  from  the  Franciscan  convent  at  Valladolid  to 
Seville,  where  a  solemn  service  was  performed  at  the  cathedral, 
after  which  the  Carthusians  bore  his  remains  beyond  the  Guadal- 
quiver  to  their  convent  vaults  in  St.  Mary  of  the  Grottoes,  and 
placed  them  in  the  chapel  of  St.  Ann.  This  was  done  at  the  ex 
pense  of  the  crown  in  the  year  1513,  while  some  have  made  the 
year  1509,  Then  it  was  that  Ferdinand  gave  the  admiral,  accord 
ing  to  a  very  doubtful  tradition,  whom  he  had  so  grossly  wronged, 
an  epitaph,  written  by  himself, 

"  FOR  CASTILLA  Y  FOR  LEON 
NUEVO  MUNDO  HALLO  COLON."* 

("  For  Castile  and  Leon  Columbus  found  a  new  world.")  In 
1526  the  repose  of  his  mortal  remains  was  again  disturbed,  but 
only  to  receive  by  his  side  those  of  his  son  Diego,  his  heir  and 
successor.  On  June  2d,  1537,  the  widow  of  Don  Diego  Colum 
bus,  Donna  Maria  de  Toledo,  obtained  from  Charles  V.  permis 
sion  to  remove  the  remains  of  Columljus  and  his  son  to  San 
Domingo,  in  Hispaniola,  the  city  he  had  founded,  and  to  which 
he  had  given  as  a  coat-of-arms  the  lion  and  the  tower  of  Isabella, 
the  cross  and  the  key,  the  emblems  of  the  Church  ;  and  now 
these  venerated  relics  were  deposited  with  great  solemnity  in  a 


*  There  is  another  rendering  of  this  epitaph,  which  is  followed  by  Mr.  Irving,  the 
Count  de  Lorgues,  and  others.  It  is  given  at  the  head  of  this  chapter,  and  represents 
Columbus  as  giving  rather  than  as  finding  a  new  world  for  Spain. 


580  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

recess  in  the  sanctuary  of  the  cathedral,  to  the  right  of  the  main 
altar,  according  to  the  Count  de  Lorgues,  but  according  to 
Tarducci,  in  the  largest  chapel  of  the  cathedral.  It  is  also  said 
that  the  removal  to  San  Domingo  was  in  compliance  with  his 
own  wish.  But  in  1795,  nearly  three  centuries  afterward,  by 
the  Treaty  of  Basle  between  France  and  Spain,  Hispaniola 
became  a  possession  of  France,  when  Spain,  desirous  of  always 
possessing  the  remains  of  Columbus,  arranged  for  their  removal 
to  Havana,  Cuba.  Accordingly,  on  December  2Oth,  1795,  the 
honored  remains  were  disinterred  with  great  pomp  and  with  the 
most  solemn  obsequies  in  the  presence  of  the  clergy,  the  gov 
ernor,  and  the  assembled  people  ;  and  after  having  been  carried 
to  the  national  vessel  provided  for  that  purpose  were  borne  to 
Havana,  and  there  again  interred  with  grand  funereal  ceremonies 
and  military  honors  near  the  great  altar  of  the  cathedral  to  the 
right  of  the  sanctuary.  The  notables  of  the  Church  and  of  the 
State  attended  these  magnificent  and  solemn  ceremonies.  It 
was  now  supposed  at  last  that  the  admiral's  remains  were  at 
rest.  But  in  1877  the  world  was  startled  by  the  announcement 
from  San  Domingo,  that  in  excavating  near  the  high  altar  of  the 
cathedral  of  that  city  the  casket  containing  the  remains  of  Colum 
bus  was  discovered  still  remaining  there.  The  remains  were 
authentically  recognized  in  the  presence  of  all  the  ecclesiastical, 
military,  and  civil  authorities,  and  such  was  the  intense  interest 
felt  in  this  strange  yet  grateful  discovery,  that  immense  numbers 
of  the  people  turned  out  to  contemplate  the  venerated  remains. 
This  singular  state  of  things,  on  investigation,  came  to  be  ex 
plained.  In  this  place  were  deposited  not  only  the  remains  of 
Columbus,  but  also  those  of  his  son,  Diego,  and  of  his  grandson, 
Luis,  his  two  successors  in  the  government  of  Hispaniola.  In 
the  manv  alterations  and  changes  made  from  time  to  time  in  the 
great  chapel  of  the  Cathedral  of  San  Domingo,  the  main  altar 
was  several  times  moved  and  its  location  changed  ;  and  though 
the  three  caskets  containing  the  mortal  remains  of  Columbus 
and  of  his  son,  Diego,  and  his  grandson,  Luis,  had  never  been 
changed  in  location,  yet  the  changes  in  the  sanctuary  and  chancel 
left  doubt  as  to  the  precise  location  of  each.  In  1877  Monsignor 
Rocco  Cocchia,  Bishop  of  Orope  and  Apostolic  Delegate  to 
San  Domingo,  while  having  the  chapel  repaired,  discovered 
the  casket,  which  on  examination  proved  not  to  be  the  one  con- 


ON   COLUMBUS.  581 

taining  the  remains  of  either  Don  Diego  Columbus  or  of  Don 
Luis  Columbus,  but,  to  the  astonishment  of  all,  that  of  the 
admiral  himself,  which  it  was  believed  had  been  removed  in 
1795  to  Havana.  Though  the  dates  showed  clearly  that  the 
casket  then  found  contained  the  remains  of  Christopher  Colum 
bus,  the  investigation  was  continued  for  the  two  caskets  which 
contained  the  bones  of  the  other  two  admirals,  Don  Diego  and 
Don  Luis,  and  on  finding  another  casket,  it  was  discovered  on 
investigation  to  contain  only  the  remains  of  Don  Luis,  for  it  was 
clearly  inscribed  with  his  name.  •  It  was  thus  made  manifest  that 
the  remains  of  Christopher  Columbus  and  of  his  grandson,  Don 
Luis  Columbus,  remained  in  the  Cathedral  of  San  Domingo,  and 
hence  the  remains  removed  in  1795  were  clearly  those  of  Don 
Diego  Columbus,  and  not  those  of  Christopher  Columbus,  as 
was  intended  and  believed  to  have  been  the  case.  It  was  always 
reported  and  believed  in  San  Domingo  that  the  casket  removed 
to  Havana  in  1795  was  not  that  of  Christopher  Columbus.  Visit 
ors  to  San  Domingo  are  to  this  day  shown  in  the  cathedral 
the  casket  claimed  to  contain  the  remains  of  the  admiral.  These 
visits  are  regulated  by  official  rule,  must  be  made  after  official 
permission  obtained  in  the  presence  of  three  officials,  and  all 
present  are  required  to  make  an  entry  of  their  visit  and  to  sign 
it  in  a  book  kept  for  that  purpose.  After  these  preliminaries 
the  glass  casket  is  brought  from  a  vault  ;  it  is  rather  small,  being 
about  three  feet  long,  two  feet  high,  and  one  and  a  half  feet 
wide,  and  is  crossed  with  two  bands  sealed  with  the  State  seal. 
Within  the  glass  casket  is  an  open  zinc  box  containing  the  wasted 
bones  of  the  illustrious  deceased,  and  also  a  glass  vase  or  jar 
containing  the  dust  of  disintegrated  bones.  At  the  time  of  the 
discovery  of  these  relics  a  small  silver  plate  was  found  with 
them,  with  an  inscription,  by  which  they  were  identified,  and 
this  is  now  suspended  within  the  casket.  Visitors  are  also  shown 
where  and  how  the  remains  were  discovered  in  1877.  These 
details  are  disputed  by  the  Academy  of  History  at  Madrid,  and 
the  remains  of  Columbus  are  claimed  to  be  resting  in  the  Cathe 
dral  of  Havana ;  but  the  claim  of  San  Domingo  seems  the 
stronger. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  river  Ozema  still  stand  the  ruins  of  the  old 
fort  or  castle,  at  the  foot  of  a  hill  now  called  Santo  Carlo,  in 
which  Columbus  was  imprisoned  by  Bobadilla.  It  is  constructed 


582  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

of  brick,  and  is  in  good  preservation.  But  the  race  whom  it  was 
intended  to  keep  in  subjection  have  entirely  disappeared,  and 
even  the  Spanish  settlement  made  about  the  fort  in  1497  has 
almost  wholly  vanished.  The  once  busy  and  bustling  spectacles 
in  which  the  loyal  Ballester  and  the  disloyal  Roldan  took  an 
active  part  have  been  succeeded  by  dense  forests  of  majestic  trees. 
But  the  city  of  San  Domingo  now  has  a  population  of  about 
fifteen  thousand,  and  has  interesting  relics  of  Columbus,  while 
the  old  Spanish  town  which  grew  up  around  the  fort  was  de 
stroyed  by  an  earthquake  on  the  morning  of  April  2oth,  1564. 
during  the  celebration  of  mass.  The  ruins  of  the  old  Spanish 
church  and  convent  are  still  visible.  The  destroyer,  Time,  has 
almost  obliterated  the  traces  of  Columbus  and  his  successors. 
Even  the  Spanish  flag  has  been  supplanted  by  that  of  France, 
and  there  is  little  left  besides  the  island  of  Cuba  of  the  great  em 
pires  which  Spain,  by  the  genius  of  Columbus,  founded  in  the 
new  world  ;  but  in  the  midst  of  such  mutations  and  decay,  the 
fame  of  Columbus,  the  prisoner  at  Fort  Conception,  the  admiral 
in  chains,  has  electrified  the  world,  and  is  to-day  more  glorified 
than  when  he  entered  the  royal  city  of  Barcelona,  the  discoverer 
of  a  new  world  returning  in  triumph. 

The  family  of  Columbus  at  the  time  of  his  death  consisted  of 
two  sons,  Diego  and  Fernando,  the  former  of  whom  was  his 
general  heir  and  legatee,  and  the  latter  became  his  historian. 
Don  Diego,  after  his  father's  death,  continued  to  demand  from 
King  Ferdinand,  as  his  illustrious  father  had  done  before  him, 
the  restitution  of  the  offices,  titles,  and  rights  to  which  he  had 
succeeded  under  the  admiral's  will,  as  well  as  by  the  stipulations 
of  the  sovereigns.  For  two  years  he  sought  justice  in  vain,  and 
in  1508,  on  the  return  of  Ferdinand  from  Naples,  the  young 
admiral  frankly  and  firmly  demanded  of  the  king  "  why  his 
Majesty  would  not  grant  to  him  as  a  favor  that  which  was  his 
right,  and  why  he  hesitated  to  confide  in  the  fidelity  of  one  who 
had  been  reared  in  his  house."  To  this  unanswerable  appeal 
the  unjust  monarch  replied  that  while  he  could  confide  in  Don 
Diego  personally,  he  could  not  venture  to  confide  so  great  a 
trust  to  his  children  and  successors.  To  this  evasion  the  son  of 
his  father  replied  that  neither  justice  nor  reason  could  sanction 
his  deprivation  of  a  right  on  account  of  the  possible  sins  of  his 
children  who  were  unborn,  and  might  never  come  into  existence. 


OX   COLUMBUS.  583 

Intent  on  vindicating  the  memory  of  his  father  and  his  own, 
and  the  rights  of  his  descendants  as  his  successors,  Don  Diego 
Columbus  requested  and  obtained  from  King  Ferdinand  permis 
sion  to  institute  a  suit  for  the  purpose  before  the  Council  of  the 
Indies.  This  celebrated  suit  was  commenced  in  1508,  was  re 
sisted  with  persistent  ingratitude  and  sophistry  by  the  king,  and 
after  lasting  several  years,  was  finally  decided  unanimously  in 
favor  of  the  young  admiral  and  successor  of  Columbus.  Even 
then  the  king  delayed  or  declined  to  carry  out  the  decision  of 
the  tribunal  to  which  he  consented,  in  favor  of  Don  Diego. 
The  latter,  however,  about  this  time  gained  another  suit,  for  he 
married  Donna  Maria  de  Toledo,  daughter  of  Fernando  de 
Toledo,  Grand  Commander  of  Leon,  and  a  niece  of  Don  Fabrique 
-de  Toledo,  the  celebrated  Duke  of  Alva,  a  brilliant  general  and 
favorite  of  the  king.  The  bride's  father  and  uncle  were  cousins 
germane  to  Ferdinand.  It  was  a  tribute  to  the  glory  shed  by  the 
great  achievements  of  Columbus  upon  his  family  that  his  son  was 
readily  received  into  one  of  the  proudest  and  most  distinguished 
families  of  Spain.  The  most  powerful  family  influence  was  now 
exerted  on  the  king,  and  this  proved  more  powerful  and  effica 
cious  with  him  than  the  claims  of  justice.  The  importunity  of 
Don  Diego  Columbus  and  his  friends  was  now  rewarded,  but 
only  in  part.  The  king  granted  to  him  the  dignities  and  pow 
ers  bestowed  upon  Ovando,  whom  he  recalled  from  Hispaniola. 
He  persistently  refused  to  the  new  governor  the  title  of  viceroy, 
which  was  always  repugnant  to  him,  even  in  the  days  of  the 
admiral. 

The  administration  of  the  second  admiral  was  a  succession  of 
troubles  and  embarrassments,  of  old  and  new  enmities  and  litiga 
tions,  which  partly  ran  through  the  reigns  of  Ferdinand  and 
Charles  V.  Like  his  father,  he  died  in  the  pursuit  of  justice 
denied.  Don  Luis  Columbus  was  also  compelled  to  seek  his 
inherited  rights  by  a  suit  against  the  crown,  and  obtained  the  title 
of  captain -general ;  but  by  vexatious  delays  and  denials  of  justice, 
a  representative  of  the  family  of  Columbus  was  compelled  by 
compromise  to  commute  all  the  concessions  made  to  the  admiral 
by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  for  the  title  of  Duke  of  Veragua  and 
Marquis  of  Jamaica,  and  a  pension.  The  succession  to  the  title 
and  the  pension  passed  into  the  collateral  line,  and  finally  in  1608 
into  the  female  branch  of  the  family,  and  in  the  younger  branch 


584  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

of  the  royal  house  of  Braganga  by  marriage.  The  present  repre 
sentative  of  the  admiral  is  the  Duke  of  Veragua,  who  is  said  to 
bear  a  family  resemblance  to  his  distinguished  ancestor.  The 
present  Duke  of  Veragua  manifested  a  lively  interest  in  the 
celebration  of  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  discovery 
of  America,  which  he,  accompanied  by  his  family,  attended  as 
the  guest  of  the  American  people.  The  blood  of  Isabella  was 
similarly  represented  here  by  the  Infanta  Eulalie. 

The  remarkable  character  of  Columbus  is  chiefly  to  be  studied 
in  his  greatest  enterprise,  the  discovery  of  America.  In  an  age 
given,  in  an  extraordinary  manner,  to  maritime  adventure  and 
discoveries,  he  was  the  only  man  that  conceived  the  idea  of  dis 
covering  a  new  world.  In  an  age  when  gigantic  strides  had 
been  made  in  extending  the  limits  of  the  known  earth  and  in  dis 
covering  new  portions  of  its  surface,  Columbus  eclipsed  all  other 
discoverers  by  the  unparalleled  grandeur,  importance,  and  value 
of  his  discoveries.  In  proportion  as  his  work  surpassed  that  of 
all  others,  so  are  his  character  and  fitness,  which  achieved  it,  to 
be  graded  above  others.  The  vastness  and  grandeur  of  his  con 
ceptions  alone  enabled  him,  of  all  men  then  living,  to  originate 
the  great  work  which  he  proposed  and  achieved.  His  work  was 
not  the  joint  or  combined  result  of  the  study  or  efforts  of  several 
minds  ;  it  was  the  sole  achievement  of  his  own  genius.  As  Mr. 
Irving  says,  it  was  the  offspring  of  his  own  mind.  The  world 
was  against  him.  He  had  neither  name  nor  fame,  nor  family 
influence,  nor  alliances,  nor  wealth  to  sustain  him  in  the  herculean 
task  ;  but  he  stood  alone  and  unsupported  at  the  courts  of  Por 
tugal  and  Spain,  just  as  he  stood  alone  at  the  gate  of  the  Fran 
ciscan  Convent  of  La  Rabida.  These  facts  show  not  only  great 
originality  of  mind,  thought,  and  study,  but  the  long  years  of 
waiting,  of  disappointment,  and  of  opposition  which  he  encoun 
tered  and  overcame  place  him  before  us  as  a  man  of  extraordinary 
will-power,  perseverance,  and  courage.  It  is  true  that  other 
qualities  aided  in  this,  but  they  were  personal  and  characteristic 
traits  and  qualities  of  Christopher  Columbus.  His  vivid  and 
soaring  imagination  added  greatly  to  the  forces  by  which  he 
carried  his  point,  and  it  was  the  singular  blending  of  the  judg 
ment  and  of  the  will  with  the  contemplative  and  theoretical,  the 
union  of  the  real  with  the  poetical,  that  enabled  him  to  over 
come  all  obstacles.  While  the  Northmen,  in  the  pursuit  of  their 


ON   COLUMBUS.  585 

seafaring  habits  and  roving  tendencies,  came  upon  portions  of  the 
Western  Hemisphere,  the  event  was  not  the  result  of  geographi 
cal  design  or  of  study,  and  it  had  no  effect  at  the  time  in  revolu 
tionizing  the  geography,  the  navigation,  the  commerce,  the  civ 
ilization  of  the  world.  Bold,  brave,  and  indomitable  as  were  the 
Norse  discoverers  of  the  tenth  and  succeeding  centuries,  and 
much  as  their  achievements  and  spirit  are  to  be  admired  and 
praised,  the  great  achievement  of  Columbus  presents  itself  in  a 
different  light  to  the  historian  and  philosopher.  There  is  no 
just  or  historic  conflict  between  the.se  two  remarkable  chapters 
in  the  history  of  the  world.  The  first  was  the  result  of  national 
traits  and  character,  habits  and  tastes,  based  immediately  upon 
accident  rather  than  study  or  problems  of  science,  and  was  tran 
sitory,  leaving  the  world  in  such  utter  ignorance  of  the  existence 
of  the  American  continents  that  their  discovery  by  Columbus 
was  new,  startling,  scientific,  and  personal.  To  Columbus  alone 
is  due  the  grand  result ;  all  who  participated  in  giving  the  under 
taking  assistance  in  ships,  money,  and  men  were  his  converts  ; 
and  when  the  material  means  were  provided,  it  was  he  in  person, 
his  genius  and  character  dominating  over  unparalleled  difficul 
ties,  that  achieved  the  grand  result.  The  first  to  conceive  and 
announce  an  unseen  and  unknown  world,  and  a  route  to  it  un 
known  and  untried,  he  was  the  first  to  see,  in  his  untiring  vigils 
at  night,  the  flickering  light  on  the  shore  that  was  carried  by  a 
man  of  an  unknown  race — the  beacon  that  revealed  the  new  world 
to  its  illustrious  discoverer. 

Columbus  was  no  ordinary  man  ;  he  loomed  up  as  a  colossal 
figure  among  the  men  of  his  age.  While  ridiculed  as  a  dreamer, 
a  lunatic,  he  was  the  only  man  on  earth  that  possessed  the  secrets 
of  knowledge  that  revolutionized  the  world.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  and  varied  learning,  though  not  of  scholastic  or  scientific 
training,  and  he  possessed  the  faculty  of  practically  applying 
what  he  knew  to  the  most  valuable  achievements  and  results. 
Having  followed  the  sea  from  the  age  of  fourteen,  his  knowledge 
of  navigation,  seamanship,  and  their  kindred  sciences  was  un 
equalled.  His  travels  over  seas  and  his  visits  to  many  lands 
made  him  acquainted  with  the  earth's  geography,  and  his  pur 
suit  as  a  map-maker  in  his  days  of  poverty  and  delay  gave  to  his 
profound  study  of  the  earth  a  detailed  and  practical  direction, 
which  made  him  one  of  the  greatest  of  living  cosmographers. 


586  OLD   AND    NEW    LIGHTS 

His  travels  also  gave  him  an  actual  knowledge  of  men,  and  of 
various  nations  and  languages,  which  prepared  him  to  lead  and 
rule  over  men.  He  was  also  a  man  of  advanced  and  progressive 
learning,  the  result  of  study  and  his  converse  with  books  and 
men.  He  was  a  thorough  student  of  the  Scriptures,  of  both  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  and  had  them  ready  at  all  times  for 
the  support  of  his  views  and  theories.  His  "  Collection  of 
Prophecies  on  the  Recovery  of  Jerusalem  and  the  Discovery  of 
the  Indies"  is  a  remarkable  instance  of  devout  and  ingenious 
research  and  application,  and  it  is  interspersed  with  poetical 
effusions  by  the  admiral  of  no  mean  character.  He  was  familiar 
with  the  patristic  theology  and  works  of  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church  ;  had  studied  the  works  of  the  Arabian  Jews,  and  was 
quite  conversant  with  and  greatly  influenced  in  his  theories  and 
opinions  by  the  geographical  writers  of  ancient  and  mediaeval 
times.  J.  G.  Kohl,  a  celebrated  German  traveler  and  scholar, 
said,  "  There  was  something  visionary  in  Columbus's  nature, 
yet  when  the  time  for  action  arrived  he  was  never  found  wanting 
in  decision  and  energy." 

Columbus  did  much  to  enlighten  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  to 
remove  old  and  superstitious  views  of  the  earth,  and  to  solve 
some  of  the  most  difficult  problems  of  nature.  With  all  the 
engrossing  and  harassing  cares  and  solicitudes  of  his  office  and 
undertaking,  he  was  a  close  and  enthusiastic  student  of  nature 
and  of  the  phenomena  of  nature.  His  correspondence  with  Dr. 
Toscanelli,  the  learned  cosmographer,  and  with  Jayme  Ferrer, 
the  eminent  lapidary,  instances  out  of  many  of  the  varied 
learning  of  Columbus,  and  of  his  interest  in  and  acquaint 
ance  with  men  of  learning,  and  with  the  sciences  in  which  they 
excelled.  The  services  herein  elsewhere  recited  as  rendered  by 
him  to  practical  science  are  evidences  of  his  scientific  attainments. 
-  The  blending  of  these  solid  accomplishments  with  a  soaring  im 
agination,  a  poetic  cast  of  mind,  and  an  intellect  fruitful  in  the 
ories,  add  a  rare  charm  to  the  character  of  this  remarkable  man. 

The  administration  of  Columbus  in  new  and  unsettled  lands 
and  unexampled  states  of  society  was  more  difficult  of  success 
than  the  government  of  the  most  extensive  and  opulent  empires 
of  modern  times.  He  knew  how  to  accommodate  himself  to  cir 
cumstances,  however  unusual  or  appalling,  Avith  rare  "sagacity. 
In  the  first  contact  of  European  civilization  with  the  barbarism 


OX   COLUMBUS.  587 

of  the  new  world  he  had  to  exert  powers  of  government,  resort 
to  measures  of  administration,  and  encounter  stunning  misfor 
tunes  and  oppositions  which  are  unexampled  in  history.  He 
knew  how  to  be  stern  in  the  administration  of  justice,  and  mild, 
generous,  and  forgiving  whenever  these  were  more  efficacious 
than  a  resort  to  authority  or  physical  strength,  or  were  forced 
upon  him  by  his  situation.  In  his  conflicts  with  the  rebellious  of 
his  own  people,  he  skilfully  temporized  when  unable  to  cope  in 
force  with  them,  and  he  preferred  to  yield  almost  every  point  to 
save  the  very  government,  its  viceroy,  and  its  loyal  subjects 
from  annihilation.  Had  he  met  Roldan  and  his  rebels  in  the 
open  field,  he  would  have  been  overpowered  and  his  own  valu 
able  life  have  been  sacrificed.  He  was  humane,  gentle,  just,  and 
affectionate  to  the  natives  of  the  countries  he  discovered,  and 
was  only  severe  toward  them  when  their  conduct  stood  in  the 
way  of  his  accomplishing  his  mission  of  founding  the  Spanish 
Empire  in  the  new  world.  Some  facts  in  his  history  would  seem 
to  countenance  the  charge  that  he  favored  and  practised  the 
enslavement  of  the  Indians,  but  from  this  charge  he  has  been 
exonerated  by  the  most  considerate  and  learned  of  historians. 
While  he  restricted  the  enslavement  of  the  Indians  to  prisoners 
of  war  and  implacable  enemies  of  the  Spanish  dominion,  he  was 
even  in  this  but  the  follower  of  the  ideas  and  practices  of  his  age 
and  country,  and  of  the  education  in  which  he  was  reared. 
Neither  he  nor  any  of  his  sons  or  brothers,  the  companions  in 
his  life-work,  owned  slaves.  The  learned  and  humane  Las  Casas, 
the  friend  and  liberator  of  the  Indians,  himself  excuses  Colum 
bus  on  this  head,  as  if  he  erred,  it  was  in  common  with  the  most 
learned  scholars  and  theologians  of  Spain  at  that  time.  Mr. 
Irving,  in  allusion  to  the  enslavement  of  prisoners  of  war  or 
rebellious  natives,  says  :  "In  so  doing  he  sinned  against  the 
natural  goodness  of  his  character,  and  against  the  feelings  which 
he  had  originally  entertained  and  expressed  toward  this  gentle 
and  hospitable  people  ;  but  he  was  goaded  on  by  the  mercenary 
impatience  of  the  crown,  and  by  the  sneers  of  his  enemies  at  the 
unprofitable  result  of  his  enterprises.  It  is  but  justice  to  his 
character  to  observe  that  the  enslavement  of  the  Indians  thus 
taken  in  battle  was  at  first  openly  countenanced  by  the  crown, 
and  that  when  the  question  of  right  came  to  be  discussed  at  the 
-entreaty  of  the  queen,  several  of  the  most  eminent  jurists  and 


588  OLD   AND   NEW    LIGHTS 

theologians  advocated  the  practice,  so  that  the  question  was 
finally  settled  in  favor  of  the  Indians  solely  by  the  humanity  of 
Isabella."  Had  the  views  and  measures  of  Columbus  been 
executed,  had  his  earnest  recommendations  to  the  crown,  so  often 
repeated  and  urged,  been  followed,  the  first  settlement  of  the 
new  world  would  not  have  been  attended  by  wars  and  enslave 
ment,  nor  would  the  Spanish  settlements  have  been  composed 
of  lustful  conquerors  or  avaricious  adventurers,  but  by  peaceful 
colonists  and  by  prudent  and  just  rulers,  jurists,  and  governors. 
Columbus  was  a  man  in  whom  nature  had  been  subdued  and 
trained  by  study,  meditation,  prayer,  and  grace.  Nature  and 
humanity  abounded  in  his  character.  His  natural  impulses  were 
powerful,  his  sensibilities  quick,  the  excitability  of  the  man  was 
intense,  and  his  impressions  were  often  suddenly  received  and 
strongly  adhered  to.  Yet  with  all  this  natural  manhood  within 
him,  he  was  conservative,  reflective,  judicious,  just,  politic,  and 
prudent.  His  self-control  was  extraordinary.  It  was  a  rare  and 
remarkable  result  of  his  self-culture,  religious  training,  and  con 
scientious  self-inspection,  that  he  brought  under  subjection  and 
control  a  temper  naturally  violent.  He  was  benevolent  and  gen 
erous.  In  the  midst  of  the  grossest  ill-treatment,  often  repeated, 
he  restrained  his  feelings  and  his  conduct,  he  kept  a  fiery  dis 
position  subject  to  reason  by  the  strong  powers  of  his  mind,  and 
he  knew  how  to  practise,  under  the  most  appalling  wrongs,  for 
bearance,  forgiveness,  and  benignity.  He  knew  even  how  to 
supplicate  when  he  was  entitled  to  command  ;  to  pardon  when 
he  might  have  punished  ;  to  conciliate  when  he  might  have  con 
demned.  Revenge  was  utterly  foreign  to  his  nature,  and  re 
pentance  always  opened  his  generous  heart,  even  to  the  greatest 
criminals.  If  he  understood  the  art  of  governing  the  unruly, 
the  capricious,  and  the  wicked  within  his  jurisdiction,  his  con 
quest  over  himself  was  more  extraordinary.  In  the  most  sudden 
emergencies  he  was  calm,  judicious,  ready,  and  rich  in  expedi 
ents.  Such,  too,  was  the  exuberance  of  his  character  that  in  the 
midst  of  the  greatest  calamities  the  slightest  turn  of  the  tide  in 
his  favor  rekindled  his  hope,  inspired  his  fancy,  nerved  his  arm 
for  new  enterprises,  and  lifted  him  up  even  from  the  bed  of  suffer 
ing.  When  nearing  his  end,  we  have  seen  how  a  slight  ray 


*  Irving's  "  Columbus,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  490. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  589 

of  hope  seemed  to  restore  him  from  the  jaws  of  death  to  the 
brightest  aspirations  of  his  youth. 

The  magnanimity  of  Columbus  was  one  of  his  most  shining 
traits  of  character.  This  virtue  he  practised  not  only  in  forgiv 
ing  the  most  lacerating  injuries,  in  extending  pardon  to  con 
demned  and  repentant  criminals,  in  his  ordinary  dealings  with 
men  of  the  world  and  of  business,  in  the  pleasure  with  which  he 
rewarded  and  praised  the  good  deeds  and  the  services  of  others, 
but  also  in  the  munificence  of  his  charities,  the  generosity  of 
his  alms  to  the  poor,  his  ardent  affection,  not  only  for  his  kindred, 
but  also  for  his  native  country  and  his  native  city,  <md  by  his 
unbounded  sympathy  and  support  of  the  Church  of  which  he 
was  a  devoted  son.  His  magnanimous  provisions  out  of  the 
princely  estates  and  revenues  to  which  he  was  entitled,  but 
which  he  never  received,  for  the  rescue  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre 
were  in  keeping  with  the  grandeur  of  his  soul  and  the  expansive- 
ness  of  his  heart.  No  other  single  individual  of  all  Christendom 
ever  conceived  so  grand  and  munificent  a  plan  of  public  bene 
faction.  Not  satisfied  with  his  avowed  intentions  and  efforts  to 
carry  this  great  scheme  into  effect  during  his  lifetime,  he  made 
ample  provision  for  it  in  his  will.  This  trait  of  his  character  was 
also  manifest  in  his  relations  with  personal  interests  and  with  his 
methods  of  controlling  and  regulating  the  natural  tendencies  of 
men,  especially  in  an  adventurous  age,  toward  self-aggrandize 
ment.  He  has  been  accused  of  seeking  through  his  great  dis 
covery  the  undue  accumulation  of  wealth  and  estates.  On  the 
contrary,  his  demands  never  equalled  his  dues.  Offices,  dig 
nities,  titles,  and  estates  he  regarded  as  necessary  to  the  support 
of  his  position  before  the  world  and  in  history,  and  so  much  was 
this  the  case  that  even  in  his  days  of  pinching  poverty  he  was 
compelled  to  keep  up  a  state  and  dignity  far  beyond  his  actual 
means.  Even  when  his  fortunes  were  at  their  lowest  ebb  he 
insisted  on  all  his  rights,  and  would  not  commute  them.  All 
these  things  in  a  selfish  and  parsimonious  man  would  seem  grasp 
ing,  but  in  Columbus  they  were  merely  the  means  by  which  he 
aspired  to  be  generous,  charitable,  liberal,  public-spirited,  and 
munificent  in  his  public  and  private  benefactions.  It  would  have 
been  incongruous  for  a  man  of  his  pre-eminence  to  be  content 
with  rewards  inadequate  to  the  social,  official,  and  public  duties 
lie  had  to  perform.  Is  it  just  to  accuse  of  a  grasping  disposition 


590  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

one  who  had  designed  to  spend  millions  in  restoring  the  Holy 
Land  to  Christendom,  who  provided  not  only  for  the  poor  of  his 
own  blood,  but  also  for  the  relief  of  all  the  poor  of  his  native 
city  ?  Contrast  if  you  will  in  this  case  the  magnanimity  of  the 
subject  with  the  sordid  meanness  of  his  own  sovereign.  In  dis 
covering  new  countries,  he  studied  rather  their  availability  for 
his  country's  good  than  any  immediate  gain  or  wealth  to  himself. 

His  loyalty  was  chivalrous,  inexhaustible,  and  manly.  While 
waiting  on  the  action  of  his  sovereigns  to  accept  his  proposals 
he  went  into  the  field  to  serve  them  in  their  wars.  The  first- 
fruits  of  all  his  achievements  were  generously  laid  at  the  feet  of 
his  king  and  queen,  whose  banner  he  was  the  first  to  raise  in 
many  distant  lands  and  countries.  His  loyalty  was  not  the  fruit 
of  royal  favor,  nor  did  it  confine  itself  to  periods  of  prosperity 
and  public  patronage,  as  is  the  case  with  politicians  and  public 
men  of  the  modern  school.  No  amount  of  wrongs,  injustice, 
ingratitude,  or  neglect  could  wring  from  him  a  line  or  an  expres 
sion  of  disloyalty.  His  admirable  letters  abound  in  the  most  de 
voted  sentiments  toward  sovereign  and  country.  This  manly 
trait  in  the  character  of  Columbus  is  forcibly  portrayed  in  the 
following  eloquent  passage  :  "  It  is  impossible  to  read  the  letter 
descriptive  of  his  fourth  and  last  voyage  without  the  deepest 
sympathy,  the  occasional  murmurings  and  half-suppressed  com 
plaints  which  are  uttered  in  the  course  of  this  touching  letter. 
These  murmurings  and  complaints  are  wrung  from  the  manly 
spirit  of  Columbus  by  sickness  and  sorrow  ;  and  though  reduced 
almost  to  the  brink  of  despair  by  the  injustice  of  the  king,  yet 
we  find  nothing  harsh  or  disrespectful  in  his  language  to  the  sov 
ereign.  A  curious  contrast  is  presented  to  us.  The  gift  of  a 
world  could  not  win  the  monarch  to  gratitude  ;  the  infliction  of 
chains,  as  a  recompense  for  that  gift,  could  not  provoke  the  sub 
ject  to  disloyalty.  The  same  great  heart  which  through  twenty 
years  of  disappointment  and  chagrin  gave  him  strength  to  beg 
and  buffet  his  way  to  glory,  still  taught  him  to  bear  with  majes 
tic  meekness  the  conversion  of  that  glory  to  unmerited  shame."  * 

With  manly  and  robust  virtues  and  traits  of  character  there 
were  united  in  Columbus  many  finer  and  more  tender  character- 

•  *  R.  H.  Major's  "Letters  of  Columbus,"  Hakluyt  Society,  London,  1847  ;  "  Me 
morials  and  Footprints  of  Columbus,"  by  General  James  Grant  Wilson,  Bulletin 
Am.  Geog.  Soc.,  1884,  p.  168. 


ON   COLUMBUS.  59! 

istics,  such  as  would  adorn  the  soul  of  the  noblest  woman  and  at 
the  same  time  refine  that  of  the  bravest  man.  Thus, we  observe 
on  all  occasions  in  his  conversations,  letters,  and  actions  a  refined 
sensibility,  an  exuberance  of  spirits,  a  chastened  excitability, 
quickness  to  receive  immediate  yet  deep  impressions,  and  a  highly 
poetic  fancy.  In  keeping  with  these  traits  was  his  extraordinary 
susceptibility  to  extreme  paroxysms  of  grief ;  for  we  have  on  more 
than  one  occasion,  when  his  sense  of  wrong  or  misfortune  or 
injustice  was  greatest,  seen  him  retire  into  his  cabin  at  sea  and 
burst  forth  in  copious  tears,  with  heartrending  sighs  and  groans  ; 
or  he  would  sink  under  his  afflictions  into  a  deep  lethargy  or  rise 
in  heavenly  vision,  and  receive  thence  most  comfort,  which  he 
recognized  as  coming  from  above  ;  and  again  immediately  there 
after  he  would  appear  upon  the  most  active  and  stirring  scenes 
and  events  of  human  history,  buoyant,  gay,  hopeful,  confiding, 
and  generous.  When  Isabella  received  him  with  an  outburst  of 
sympathy  and  gentleness,  after  he  had  been  brought  back  to 
Spain  in  chains,  his  heart  was  melted  into  grief  and  tenderness  ; 
indignation  gave  way  to  softer  emotions  ;  sobs  and  tears  in  the 
presence  of  the  court  relieved  the  wounded  heart,  and  Columbus 
again  stood  forth  the  noblest  historic  figure  of  his  age.  He  was 
always  alive  to  impressions  of  joy  or  of  grief,  of  friendship  or  of 
anger,  of  pleasure  or  of  indignation.  There  was  a  natural  and 
congenial  friendship  which  bound  together  in  unison  the  manly 
soul  of  Columbus  and  the  gentle  and  womanly  heart  of  Isabella. 
But  in  the  character  of  Columbus  religion  made  up  the  grand 
staple  of  his  manhood.  His  faith  was  childlike,  yet  intelligent, 
aggressive,  and  heroic.  Tender  piety  was  conspicuous  in  his 
every  act,  and  his  profound  devotion  sustained  him  in  many  a 
crushing  crisis.  Such  was  his  reliance  upon  divine  Providence, 
and  such  his  gratitude  to  God  for  every  success  of  his  life,  that 
he  seemed  to  hold  perpetual  converse  with  heaven.  In  all  his 
trials  prayer  was  his  chief  consolation.  His  great  discoveries 
were  always  accompanied  with  public  thanksgivings,  and  when 
ever  he  landed  in  a  newly  discovered  country,  he,  first  of  all, 
fell  upon  his  knees  to  return  thanks  to  God.  His  life  of  glory 
and  success  was  a  perpetual  Te  Deum  !  In  sorrow  and  affliction 
the  sad  but  appealing  melody  of  the  Miserere  resounded  in  his 
soul  !  How  grand  it  was  in  mid-ocean,  or  when  approaching 
unknown  and  heathen  lands,  to  hear  resounding  over  the  expanse 


592  OLD   AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

of  waters  the  beautiful  notes  of  the  Salve  Regina  or  other  re 
ligious  hymns  at  vesper  time  !  Before  starting  out  on  the  most 
perilous  voyages  he  placed  all  under  the  protection  and  invoca 
tion  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity,  and  in  the  calendar  of  saints  he 
had  many  patrons.  To  the  Virgin  Mother  of  God  his  devotion 
was  as  tender  as  that  of  a  pious  son.  The  names  he  gave  to  the 
islands  and  countries  he  discovered  are  but  the  records  of  his 
religious  and  devout  emotions  and  grateful  thanksgivings.  To 
such  a  soul  as  his  the  gorgeous  splendors  of  the  Church  and  of 
her  ritual  were  foretastes  of  the  unspeakable  glories  and  joys  of 
heaven,  of  anthems  sung  by  celestial  choirs,  of  domes  of  majestic 
grandeur  and  endless  vastness,  of  the  beatific  vision  itself.  Im 
aginative,  theoretical,  visionary,  enthusiastic,  and  poetic  as  he 
was,  his  religious  sentiments  never  lifted  him  beyond  the  human 
sympathies  of  real  life,  for  he  was  charitable  to  the  poor,  sym 
pathetic  with  the  afflicted,  affectionate  to  kindred,  generous  to 
the  Church,  and  tender  to  his  kind.  Religion  was  depicted  in 
his  honest  and  sincere  countenance,  imparting  to  it  a  sombre 
expression  of  piety,  an  exalted  dignity,  a  gentle  benignity,  a 
sober  and  sedate  carriage,  a  trustful  composure,  and  a  reveren 
tial  demeanor.  In  the  midst  of  lewdness,  lust,  and  infidelity  he 
was  continent  and  pure.  His  words  were  respectful,  chaste, 
and  considerate,  and  he  never  indulged  in  oaths,  curses,  irrever 
ence,  or  levity.  Such  was  the  generosity  of  his  nature  that  all 
the  wrongs  he  suffered  from  men  never  embittered  him  against 
mankind.  Such  was  his  deep  religious  character  and  the  fame 
of  sanctity  of  his  life,  that  some  of  his  admirers  have  attributed 
miracles  to  him,  and  his  earnest  and  sincere  eulogist,  the  elo 
quent  Count  de  Lorgues,  and  others  have  agitated  the  question 
of  his  canonization  as  a  saint.  Life  was  too  short  for  such  a 
man.  Any  one  of  the  grand  services  I  have  mentioned  as 
rendered  by  him  to  practical  science  was  enough  to  immortalize 
his  name.  He  cherished  three  great  and  exalted  aspirations  in 
addition  to  the  many  magnificent  works  he  performed  and  ser 
vices  he  rendered  to  his  race — the  discovery  of  the  new  world, 
the  circumnavigation  of  the  earth,  and  the  redemption  of  the 
Holy  Land  from  the  hands  of  infidels  and  its  restoration  to 
Christendom.  These  were  no  visionary  schemes.  The  last  had 
been  attempted  with  temporary  but  brilliant  success  by  the  com 
bined  Christian  armies  of  Europe,  under  the  sanction,  appeals. 


ON  COLUMBUS.  593 

and  benedictions  of  the  popes,  leaving  behind  great  moral  effects. 
It  has  even  now  been  partially  accomplished  for  practical  pur 
poses  by  the  opening  of  the  accesses  to  Palestine  and  of  the 
gates  of  Jerusalem  to  Christian  pilgrims.  An  interesting  fact 
attracts  our  notice  here,  the  assignment  of  the  holy  places  in 
Palestine  to  the  guardianship  of  that  seraphic  order,  the  Francis 
cans — the  very  same  who  befriended  Columbus  in  his  earliest 
efforts  to  attempt  the  discovery  of  the  new  world,  whose  apos 
tolic  missionaries  he  introduced  into  America,  to  whom  he  was 
devotedly  attached  in  life  and  in  death,  whose  religious  habit  he 
wore  in  the  streets  of  Seville,  who  attended  him  in  his  last 
moments,  and  interred  his  remains  in  their  convent.  This  aspira 
tion  of  the  admiral  may  and  certainly  will  be  accomplished,  under 
Providence,  by  the  inevitable  and  evidently  approaching  disso 
lution  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  which  now  holds  political  juris 
diction  over  Judea. 

The  second  grand  aspiration  of  Columbus,  the  circumnaviga 
tion  of  the  globe,  under  his  leadership  in  revealing  to  mankind 
the  geography  and  shape  of  the  earth,  and  declaring  it  to  be  cir- 
cumnavigable,  and  accomplishing  in  person  a  great  part  of  the 
transit  when  it  was  unknown  and  perilous,  has  now  become  an 
affair  of  easy  and  familiar  accomplishment,  so  that  even  a  child 
now  can  start  from  New  York  or  any  other  commercial  city  in 
the  world,  and  make  the  tour  of  the  earth  in  an  almost  incredibly 
small  number  of  days. 

The  first  great  aspiration  of  Columbus  was  accomplished  by 
himself,  just  as  he  had  asserted  that  upon  scientific  data  and 
principles  it  would  be  accomplished,  and  with  unparalleled  suc 
cess.  For  as  Cladera  has  so  cogently  expressed  it,  "  His  soul 
was  superior  to  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  For  him  was  reserved 
the  great  enterprise  of  traversing"  that  sea  which  had  given  rise 
to  so  many  fables,  and  of  deciphering  the  mystery  of  his  time." 
Not  only  did  he  accomplish  this,  but  it  was  achieved  by  his  per 
sonal  and  individual  genius,  by  his  energy  and  perseverance,  his 
contempt  of  obstacles  and  opposition,  and  with  means  inad 
equate  to  so  great  an  undertaking.  Having  discovered  America 
in  1492,  it  was  in  the  justice  of  God  reserved  for  him  also  to  be 
the  discoverer  of  the  continent.  This  last  great  achievement 
was  executed  by  him  in  1498  ;  and  here  it  is  important  to  remark 
that  for  three  years  prior  to  this  discovery  of  the  continent  by 


594  OLD  AND   NEW   LIGHTS 

Columbus,  under  the  unjust  sanctions  and  licenses  given  by  King- 
Ferdinand  to  private  adventurers  to  sail  to  the  countries  discov 
ered  by  Columbus,  in  violation  of  his  rights,  and  although  his 
enemy,  Fonseca,  at  the  head  of  the  Indian  Bureau,  encouraged 
and  stimulated  such  adventures,  and  even  supplied  copies  of 
Columbus's  map  to  them,  not  one  of  the  bold  and  reckless  mar 
iners  of  his  time  was  able  to  wrest  this  eminent  distinction  and 
well-merited  glory  from  the  admiral.  He  alone  fully  realized 
the  vastness,  the  grandeur,  and  the  value  of  his  discovery,  and  of 
the  pre-eminent  dignities,  offices,  rights,  estates,  titles,  revenues, 
and  jurisdictions  it  conferred  upon  himself.  The  wily  Ferdinand 
thought  these  latter  were  too  great  for  any  subject  to  possess, 
showing  that  while  he,  too,  saw  the  vast  empires  and  boundless 
wealth  thus  bestowed  by  a  subject  upon  him  and  his  successors, 
he  was  incapable  of  rewarding  Columbus  according  to  his  merits 
or  even  in  accordance  with  and  in  fulfilment  of  his  promise. 
Of  all  men  Columbus  alone  saw,  with  a  vision  peculiar  to  him 
self,  the  immensity  of  his  achievement.  It  was  the  common  and 
universal  error  of  his  age,  in  which  he  shared  for  want  of  time 
and  means  supplied  for  correcting  it,  as  he  would  have  done, 
that  the  countries  he  had  discovered  were  the  remotest  parts 
of  Asia.  He  had  spent  so  many  years  of  his  life  in  the  delays 
and  opposition  which  beset  him  in  high  and  low  places,  there 
was  not  afforded  him  sufficient  time  nor  adequate  means,  even 
after  the  great  discovery  was  accomplished,  to  continue  his 
discoveries  from  the  islands  and  the  continents  to  the  complete 
exploration  of  the  earth  and  the  perfect  solution  of  the  grand 
problems  he  had  undertaken  to  unfold.  Theoretically  Colum 
bus  realized  all  in  his  mind  and  convictions,  and  yet  his  bright 
est  fancies,  his  most  soaring  dreams,  the  most  visionary  flights 
of  his  fervid  imagination  never  reached  the  knowledge  of  the 
full  grandeur,  the  boundless  development,  the  magnificent  em 
pires,  the  progress  in  arts  and  sciences,  the  political  and  con 
stitutional  liberty,  the  countless  populations  of  civilized,  en 
lightened,  brave,  and  irrepressible  nations,  nor  the  financial, 
commercial,  scientific,  and  political  attainments  that  were  to 
flow  from  the  great  discovery  he  had  made.  It  was  a  rare 
sight  to  see  one  man  alone  struggling  to  solve  those  mighty 
problems  now  so  familiar  to  us.  Though  the  idea  of  the  other 
ocean  dawned  upon  his  penetrating  mind,  yet  little  did  he  imag- 


ON  COLUMBUS.  595 

ine  then  that  the  two  oceans  encircled  continents  wholly  distinct 
and  separate  from  the  continents  of  the  old  world,  equal  to  them 
in  extent,  more  favored  in  their  location,  their  natural  resources 
and  potential  wealth,  the  richness  of  their  soil,  their  inexhaustible 
mineral  treasures,  and  destined  in  time  to  surpass  them  in  arts 
and  sciences,  in  civilization  and  constitutional  government,  in 
civil  and  religious  liberty,  the  results  of  material  development, 
and  in  the  grandeur  of  their  power  and  domains.  Little  did  he 
then  imagine  that  four  hundred  years  thence,  in  1892,  mighty 
empires  and  republics,  with  their  teeming  millions  possessing 
the  magnificent  world  he  had  given  mankind,  would  assemble  in 
common  with  the  other  nations  of  the  earth  in  this  new  world  of 
his,  and  render,  exultantly,  an  unequalled  and  an  unprecedented 
homage  to  the  name,  to  the  genius,  and  to  the  unrivalled  ser 
vices  of  Christopher  Columbus  !  Yet  his  enthusiastic  spirit  and 
his  prophetic  genius  conceived  an  idea  of  future  grandeur  of  the 
world  he  had  disclosed  to  mankind.  He  realized  them  in  extent 
and  value,  not  in  detail,  as  Asiatic,  not  as  American.  At  times 
he  seems  to  have  seen  all.  To  his  intellect  and  heart  may  it 
be  given,  in  other  and  better  spheres,  to  see  the  discovery  of 
these  fair  and  majestic  continents,  as  we  see  them  now,  crowned 
with  all  human  development — the  prophecy  and  the  accomplish 
ment  ! 


NOTES. 


I.  Allusions  having  frequently  been  made  in  regard  to  supposed  proceedings,  insti 
tuted  at  Rome,  for  the  canonization  of  Columbus,  I  have  caused  a  direct  inquiry  to  be 
made  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Rites  on  this  subject.     The  Right  Rev.  Monsig- 
nore   O'Connell  accordingly,  at  my  request,  addressed  the  following  letter  to   His 
Eminence  the  Cardinal  Secretary  of  the  Congregation  of  Rites  : 

"  YOUR  EMINENCE  :  Mr.  Richard  H.  Clarke,  a  distinguished  American  Catholic 
historical  writer,  is  now,  at  the  request  of  many  Catholics,  engaged  in  writing  a  defence 
of  the  life  of  Christopher  Columbus,  and  begs  me  to  inquire  of  the  Sacred  Congrega 
tion  of  Rites  if  the  current  report  be  true — to  wit,  that  the  Cause  of  Columbus  was 
thrown  out  for  the  reason  that,  having  abandoned  his  first  lawful  wife,  he  lived  in  con 
cubinage  with  the  second  ?  Which,  etc. 

"  D.    J.    O'CONNELL, 

"  Rector  of  the  American  College,  Via  Umilta,y>." 

To  this  letter  His  Eminence  the  Cardinal  Secretary  of  the  Sacred  Congregation  of 
Rites  replied  as  follows  : 

"  8  VIA  S.  APOLLINARE. 

"  The  Sacred  Congregation  of  Rites  cannot  treat  of  the  Cause  of  Christopher  Colum 
bus  till  the  diocesan  processes  be  ended,  and  these  have  not  thus  far  been  begun." 

Thus  it  is  clear  that  the  process  for  the  canonization  of  Columbus  has  never  been 
commenced,  and  consequently  has  never  been  decided. 

II.  The  author  announced  in  his  prospectus  that  it  was  his  intention  to  print  the 
names  of  the  subscribers  in  the  work.     But  since  that  announcement  the  expression 
by  the  subscribers  of  a  preference  that  this  should  not  be  done  has  reached  us,  and 
that  preference  is  uniform.     In  deference,  therefore,  to  the  wishes  of  the  subscribers 
themselves,  I  have  concluded  to  omit  the  names. 


INDEX. 


jElian,  61. 

Affonso  V.,  35,  68. 

Africa,  51-53,  57,  61. 

African  slavery,  402-405. 

Aguado,  Juan,  256,  321,  458-61,  480. 

Alexander  III.,  18. 

Alexander  VI .,  119,  222-25,  236. 

Alfraganus,  60. 

Aliaco,  Cardinal,  63. 

America,  Name  of,  394-402. 

Anacaona,  315,  361,  544. 

Antilla,  43,  44,  45,  65. 

Antilles,  186. 

Antipodes,  20. 

Antonio,  Nicolao,  103,  107. 

Arana,  Diego  de,  112,  135,  146,  147,  161,  199,245, 

246. 

Arana,  Rodrigo  de,  112. 
Aranas,  lot,  in,  112,  136,  146. 
Aristotle,  44,  61. 
Asia,  18,  57,  58,  59,  60,*  61,  64,  65. 
Astrolabe,  69. 

Atlantic  Ocean,  44,  60,  61,  65,  66,  160,  164. 
Atlantis,  43,  61. 
Augustine,  St.,  20. 
Ave  Maria,  191. 
Ave  Maris  Stella,  170. 
Azores,  43,  52,  60,  66. 

Bahamas,  136. 

Ballester,  368,  381, 4x1. 

Bancroft,  George,  21. 

Barber  family,  155. 

Barrantes,  411. 

Behaim,  Martin,  69. 

Behechio,  307, 

Belloni,  129. 

Belloy,  Marquis  de,  118. 

Benedictines,  276. 

Benjamin,  Rabbi,  68. 

Berardi,  Juanato,  232. 

Bethencourt,  Jean  de,  49. 

Boabdil,  90,  94. 

Bobadilla,  425-81. 

Boggiasco,  25. 

Boil,  Rev.  B.,  229,  249,  252,  271,  977,  300,  300,  313, 

318. 

Boyle,  Father  B.,  272,  304. 
Brandan,  St.,  45,  66. 
Brazil,  241,  399. 
Breviesca,  the  Jew,  344-46. 
Bristol,  47. 
Buldee,  Raymond,  117. 


Cabot,  Sebastian,  167, 168,  2x5. 

Cado,  Fermin,  260,  263,  313. 

Calvi,  25. 

Cambalu,  59. 

Canaries,  43,  44,  49,  60,  236. 

Cancellieri,  104. 

Cannibals,  237,  391. 

Canonization,  124,  592,  596. 

Caonabo,  242,  246,  247,  261,  263,  267,  305,  306-10. 

Cape  Bojador,  51,  52. 

Cape  Nun,  52. 

Cape  of  Good  Hope,  53,  57,  88. 

Cape  St.  Vincent,  51,  66. 

Cape  Verde  Islands,  50,  60. 

Caribbean  Islands,  237. 

Caribs,  237,  241,  256. 

Carillo,  Diego,  319. 

Carpini,  69. 

Carvajal,  385-88. 

Casseria,  25. 

Catabanama,  546-50. 

Carthaginians,  43,  45,  61. 

Cathay,  41,  59,  64,  65. 

Celer,  Quintus  Metellus,  62. 

Centaurs,  263. 

Chanca,  Dr.,  234,  248,  251,  257. 

Charles  V.,  402. 

Charles  VIII.,  297. 

Chiavari,  25. 

China,  Northern,  64. 

China,  Southern,  59. 

Church,  The  first,  259. 

Cipango,  SQ,  65,  71,  171,  184,  187,  190. 

Civezza,  Marcellino,  116,  117,  145. 

Clemencin,  94. 

Cogoleto,  25. 

Colmenar,  Alvarez  de,  118. 

Colombo,  Domenico,  25,  32,  42,  68. 

Colombo  family,  121,  122. 

Colombos,  Admirals,  29,  30,  32,  39,  45,  46. 

Columbus,  Bartholomew,  33,  88,  89,  no,  113,  124, 
297.  298,  360-75,  501,  575. 

Columbus,  Christopher,  birth,  24 ;  birthplace,  24- 
51  ;  portraits,  25  ;  parents,  25  ;  name,  26 ;  bap 
tism,  26  ;  education,  26  ;  trade,  27  ;  his  studies, 
28  ;  sailor,  29  ;  early  voyages,  20,  30  ;  in  Portu 
gal,  32  ;  Madeira,  33  ;  first  marriage,  36,  37 ; 
birth  of  son  Diego,  38  ;  death  of  first  wife, 
38  ;  his  hair  turned  gray,  39  ;  voyage  to  Iceland, 

38,  47  ;  dates  in  his  career,  39  ;  voyages  to  Africa, 

39,  48  ;  draws  maps,  42  ;  at  Lisbon,  42,  46,  56,  08, 
88  ;   his  studies,  43-45  ;   naval  engagement,  46  ; 
Columbus  and  Prince  Henry,  34-54  !  personal  ap- 


593 


INDEX. 


pearance,  54  ;  character,  54-56 ;  broaches  his 
ideas,  57  ;  Toscanelli  correspondence,  57-59  ; 
grounds  of  his  proposals,  60-66  ;  before  John  II. — 
»  his  plan  rejected,  71  ;  treachery,  72  ;  leaves  Por 
tugal,  accusation  refuted,  73-77  ;  in  Spain,  78  ; 
doubtful  dates,  79  ;  Convent  of  La  Rabida,  79, 
80 ;  follows  the  court,  83  ;  at  Cordova,  82  ;  Men- 
doza,  Quintanella  and  Geraldini,  83  ;  at  court, 
84 ;  Council  of  Salamanca,  84-87  ;  again  follows 
the  court,  87,  88  ;  at  Lisbon,  88  ;  sends  Bartholo 
mew  to  England,  89 ;  in  Spain  again,  89  ;  sum 
moned  to  Seville,  89  ;  a  soldier,  90  ;  leaves  the 
court,  92  ;  at  La  Rabida,  92-94,  159  ;  Juan  Perez 
de  Marchena,  92  ;  summoned  before  Isabella,  93  ; 
at  court,  94  ;  negotiations,  94,  95  ;  departure  from 
court,  95  ;  sent  for  and  returns,  97  ;  again  at 
court,  97  ;  terms  accepted,  97,  98  ;  ennobled,  98  ; 
Colon,  98  ;  at  Cordova,  100  ;  Beatrix  Enriguez  de 
Arana,  101-57  ;  second  marriage,  101-57  ?  ques 
tion  raised,  102  ;  refuted,  100-57  ;  thirty  reasons 
sustaining  second  marriage,  111-27  ;  his  will, 
145  ;  first  voyage,  158-77  ;  at  Palos,  159 ;  sails 
from  Palos,  162  ;  discovers  the  magnetic  point  of 
no  variations,  165-68 ;  flight  of  birds,  172  ;  sees  a 
light  on  land,  174 ;  land  discovered,  175 ;  the 
landing,  177-82  ;  explorations,  184-95  !  desertion 
of  Pinzon,  191  ;  Cuba,  iSS  ;  Hayti,  192  ;  builds  a 
fort  at  La  Navidad,  199,  598  ;  homeward  voyage, 
201 ;  Pinzon's  return,  202  ;  in  Portugal,  206  ;  at 
Palos,  209  ;  at  Barcelona,  213  ;  honors  to  Colum 
bus,  217  ;  anecdote  of  the  egg,  217,  218  ;  line  of 
demarcation,  219-26;  second  expedition,  231; 
enmity  of  officials,  233 ;  day  of  sailing,  235  ;  dis 
covers  Caribbean  Islands,  237 ;  at  Hispaniola, 
242  ;  sends  Caribs  to  Spain,  256 ;  mutiny,  260, 
268 ;  exploration  of  Hispaniola,  261  ;  builds  a 
fort,  263  ;  distributes  the  army,  269  ;  disaffection 
of  Margarite  and  Boil,  271  ;  excommunication,  274 ; 
exploration  of  Cuba  and  Jamaica,  278-95  ;  attack 
of  lethargy,  296 ;  return  to  Hispaniola,  297 ;  sends 
Indians  to  Spain,  300 ;  desertion  of  Boil  and  Mar 
garite,  304  ;  rebellion  of  caciques  suppressed,  305- 
ii ;  Guamiquina,  Indian  name  of  Columbus,  309  ; 
capture  of  Caonabo,  309  ;  conquest  and  tribute, 
314  ;  Aguado  sent  to  Hispaniola,  321-25  ;  returns 
to  Spain,  325-32 ;  accused  at  court,  326  ;  gold 
discovered  at  Hayna,  326-29  ;  arrival  in  Spain, 
332  ;  kindly  received  at  court,  334  ;  third  voyage, 
336-53  ;  offered  a  principality,  337  ;  establishes 
an  entail  by  will,  338-40;  delays,  341;  insults, 
344;  discovers  the  continent,  349-59;  theories  on 
the  shape  of  the  earth,  356  ;  at  Hispaniola,  356- 
60,  376  ;  Roldan's  rebellion,  377-90,  411-15  ; 
slavery,  391-04,  402-405  ;  Roldan  and  Ojeda, 
411-15  ;  rebellion  of  Moxica  and  Guevara,  416- 
19  ;  despondency,  420,  421  ;  hostility  in  Spain, 
422-29  ;  superseded  by  Bobadilla,  425-40 ;  ar 
rested  and  imprisoned  by  Bobadilla,  437-43  ; 
sent  to  Spain  in  chains,  441-43  ;  sensation  on  his 
arrival,  443  ;  his  letter  to  the  governess,  445  ;  again 
at  court,  447  ;  'the  accusations,  448-55  ;  infringe 
ments  on  his  rights,  455-57  ;  Bobadilla's  admin 


istration,  457  ;  Ovando  in  Hispaniola,  458-61  ; 
Columbus  in  Spain,  461-74  ;  book  of  prophecies, 
463-68  ;  preparations  for  a  fourth  voyage,  468  ; 
Bank  of  St.  George,  470 ;  his  signature,  471  ; 
fourth  voyage,  475  ;  Bobadilla  and  Roldan  ship 
wrecked,  478-81  ;  refused  a  shelter,  480 ;  cruise 
in  search  of  the  inter-oceanic  passage,  481-95  ; 
Veragua,  495-512  ;  the  hostile  Quibian  and  Vera- 
guans,  497-510 ;  lethargy  and  vision,  510  ;  depar 
ture  from  Veragua,  513 ;  stranded  on  Jamaica 
coast,  516 ;  litter  a  rarissima,  518  ;  revolt  of  Por- 
ras  brothers,  525-29  ;  delivered  from  exile,  539, 
550;  arrives  at  Hispaniola,  551 ;  returns  to  Spain, 
552 ;  importunes  the  King,  554-73  ;  end  ap 
proaching,  575 ;  his  will,  575-77  ;  death,  577  ; 
epitaph,  579;  his  remains,  578-81;  his  family, 
582-84  ;  character,  584-95. 

Columbus,  Diego,  brother  of  Christopher,  42,  225, 
226,  232,  234,  261,  298,  300,  319,  401,  431,  582,  583. 

Columbus,  Diego,  son  of  Christopher,  38,  79,  113, 

M3.  159- 
Columbus,   Fernando,  48,  60,  66,  102,   113,  117,  121, 

140,  141,  298. 
Columbus,  Luis,  583. 
Continent  discovered,  349-59. 
Cordova,  82,  87,  100,  113,  114,  116,  123,  145. 
Corea,  Pedro,  35,  66. 
Cosmographiae  Introductio,  399. 
Cuba,  188,  191,  278-95. 
Cucarro,  25. 

Dahlgren,  Mrs.  Admiral,  148. 

Daly,  Charles  P.,  25. 

Dante,  63. 

D'Arhues,  132. 

Demarcation,  Bull  of,  219-26. 

Desdemona,  137,  138,  148. 

Deza,  Diego  de,  87,  91,  100. 

Diaz,  Bartholomew,  297. 

Diaz,  Bernal,  88. 

Divina  Commedia,  146. 

Don,  Title  of,  159. 

Dondero,  A.,  129,  142,  143. 

Dragon's  Mouth,  352. 

Dublin  Review,  27. 

DuBois,  Constance  Goddard,  148. 

Eleven  thousand  virgins,  240,  599. 

Encomiendas,  391,  402. 

England,  88,  89. 

Enriquez,  Beatrix,  101-57,  24^,  274,  298. 

Escobar,  Rodrigo  de,  161. 

Europe,  61,  65. 

Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  78,  81,  214,  227. 
Ferdinand,    King,  81,  89,  97,  100,  105,  229,  272,  554- 

73- 

Fernandez,  Garcia,  92,  96,  98. 
Fiesco,  Bartholomew,  523,  524,  533-35- 
Finale,  25. 

Fiske,  John,  v.,  75,  224,  276,  393,  404. 
Fonseca,  Juan  de,  228,  230,  233,  234,  412,  415. 
Fort  St.  Thomas,  263,  264,  266. 


INDEX. 


599 


France,  89,  92. 
Funchal,  38,  40,  43. 

Gama,  Vasco  de,  52. 

Garcia,  Alphonso,  116,  140. 

Garcia,  Gil,  234. 

Genoa,  25-27,  67,  78. 

Geraldini,  83,  100. 

Gibraltar,  64. 

Granada,  90,  91,  93. 

Greenland,  17. 

Grotius,  Hugo,  62. 

Guacanagari,  194-201,  236,  242-51, "306-1 2. 

Guamiquina,  309. 

Guatiquana,  307. 

Guarionex,  308,  360-70. 

Harrisse,  73. 

Hayna  Mines  discovered,  326. 

Hayti,  192,  193-201,  241. 

Herrera,  Antonio  de,  118,  139. 

Higuey,  545-5°- 

Hispaniola,  146,  192,  241,  266-70. 

Homer,  25. 

Humboldt,  108,  131,  133,  148. 

Iceland,  15,  47. 

India,  52,  61. 

Indians,  178,  227,  265,  266,   364-66,   402-405,  541-50. 

Indies,  Council  of,  227. 

Innocent,  Pope,  IV.,  69. 

Inter  Cetera,  Bull  of,  222. 

Irving,  Washington,  20,  107,  148,  223. 

Isabella,  79,  83,  96,  97,  114,  115,  229,  258,  SS7-6a- 

Isabella,  City  of,  252-56,  259,  557-62. 

Jamaica,  285,  291. 

Japan,  59. 

John  II.,  69,  70-72,  88,  89,  227,  230. 

Julius  II.,  567. 

Kenrick,  Francis  Patrick,  223. 
Khan,  Grand,  19,  56,  59,  186. 
Khan,  Kayuk,  18,  19. 
Knight,  Father  A.  G.,  27,  105. 

La  Cosa,  Juan  de,  232. 

Lactantius,  20.  . 

Las  Casas,  Bishop   Bartolome',  v.,  27,  232,  393,  396, 

401,  402-405. 

Las  Casas,  Francesco,  232. 
Lazzaroni,  M.  A.,  118,  129,  141. 
Ledesma,  Pedro,  508,  537,  538. 
Lisbon,  33,  40. 
Loetus,  Pomponius,  215. 
Longfellow,  63. 

Lorgues,  Roselly  de,  v.,  21,  79,  133,  134,  139. 
Louis,  St.,  18. 
Lud,  Walter,  398. 
Luxan,  Juan  de,  264. 

Machico,  35,  36,  43. 
Madeira,  33,  50. 
Maldonado,  M.,  234,  251. 
Mandeville,  Sir  John,  64,  68. 


Maney,  Regina,  34,  76. 

Mangi,  59,  65. 

Manicatex,  311. 

Maps  :  Ptolemy,  41 ;  Marco  Polu,  41  ;  Mauro,  41. 

Marchena,  Antonio  de,  231,  252,  259. 

Marchena,  Juan  Perez  de,  79,  94. 

Margarite,    Pedro,   232,   256,  264,  266,  271,  300,  313, 

3x8. 

Marine  Pulmonate,  15,  19. 
Marque,  Diego,  238. 

Marriage,  Law  of,  125,  129  ;  at  Common  Law,  156. 
Martyr,  Peter,  216,  254. 
Mayobanex,  372-76. 
Mayorazgo,  120. 
Medina  Cell,  79,  100,  123. 
Medina  Sidonia,  79,  100,  123. 
Mediterranean,  27,  28. 
Mela,  Pomponius,  17,  62. 

Mendez,  Diego,  501-12,  517,  522-30,  533-35,  539. 
Mendoza,  Cardinal,  83,  92-93,  100,  217. 
Missionaries,  229. 
Moniz,  27,  34. 
Moniz,  Philippa  Moniz  de  Perestrello  de  Mello,  34, 

37.  38.  39.  73.  77.  '43.  *44- 
Moniz,  Vasco  Martius,  35,  36. 
Monteno,  Mariana,  27. 
Moors,  45,  49.  87,  93. 
Moquer,  161,  162. 
Moya,  Marchioness  de,  93,  94,  96. 

Napione,  Galeani,  104,  149. 
Navarrete,  M.  F.  de,  105,  106,  119,  149. 
Navidad,  La,  199,  242-47. 
Needle,  Magnetic,  165-68. 
Nepos,  Cornelius,  62. 
Nino,  P.  A.,  161. 
Northmen,  vi.,  17,  47. 
Novus  Afundus,  395-400. 

Ojeda,   Alonzo  de,  231,  238,  255,  305,  306,  308,  411- 

15- 

Olano,  Sebastian  de,  234. 
Oneglia,  25. 
Orinoco,  354. 
Othello,  137,  148. 
Ovando,  458-61,  53'-33.'5 
Oviedo,  139. 
Ozema  River,  326,  360. 

Palestine,  69. 

Palma  y  Freytas,  io4,'i2i. 

Palos,  93,  160-62. 

Pane,  Roman,  265. 

Papal  Power,  222-25. 

Paria,  353. 

Parillas.  P.  S.  de,  143. 

Pavia,  University  of,  26,  27. 

Peffasola,  160. 

Pereira,  Gabriel,  34,  66. 

Perestrello,  27,  34. 

Peschel,  393. 

Pinelo,  Francisco,  328,  230. 

Pinilla,  160. 


6oo 


INDEX. 


Pinzons,  92,  160,  161,  163,  191-211,  318. 

Pisa,  Bernal  Diaz  de,  234,  260. 

Plato,  Dialogues  of,  16,  43,  61. 

Pliny,  62. 

Polo,  Marco,  18,  19,  41,  58,  59,  64,  65,  68. 

Ponce  de  Leon,  232. 

Popes,  Temporal  power  of,  222-25. 

Porras  brothers,  525,  529,  535-39. 

Porto  Santo,  35,  66. 

Portuguese  voyages,  41,  42,  51-53,  56,  57,  68,  300. 

Pradella,  25. 

Prado,  Prior  of  El,  79,  84. 

Prescott,  W.  H.,  ax. 

Prester  John,  18,  56,  69. 

Prince  Henry  the  Navigator,  34,  50-53,  68. 

Ptolemy,  17,  41,  47,  58,  60. 

Pulci,  63. 

Queen's  Gardens,  288. 

Quibian,  496-508. 

Quins.ii,  59. 

Quintanella,  83,  94,  95,  96,  100. 

Quintero,  Cristoval,  161,  163. 

Quinto,  25. 

Rabida,  Convent  of,  79,  131. 

Rascon,  Gomez,  161. 

Repartimientos,  408,  543. 

Ringmann,  398. 

Roldan,    Bartholomew,    161,    163,  233,  367-71,  377- 

90,  406,  411-19,  478-81. 
Romans,  Marriage  among  the,  141. 
Rubruquis,  69. 
Ruiz,  Sancho,  161. 

Saint  Die,  397-400. 
Salamanca  84-87,  91. 
Salve  Regina,  170,  191,  237. 
Sanchez,  Alonzo,  218. 
Sanchez,  Roderigo,  161. 
Saragosso  Sea,  170. 
San  Salvador,  177. 
Santa  F6,  93,  95,  97. 
Santangel,  Luis  de,  94,  95,  96. 
Savona,  25. 


Seneca,  61,  62. 

Sepulchre,  Holy,  90,  99. 

Serpent's  Mouth,  351. 

.Seven  Cities,  44,  '66. 

Seville,  89,  91. 

Shakespeare,  139. 

Shelford  on  Marriage,  127,  141.  "* 

Slavery,  391,  402-405. 

Smith,  J.  Toulman,  62. 

Soria,  Juan  de,  228,  230,  233. 

Spain,  78,  140. 

Spotorno,  105,  149. 

St.  Elmo,  237. 

Strabo,  17,  61. 

Swift  v.  Kelly,  129. 

Talavera,  84,  87,  91,  94,  98. 

Tarducci,  25. 

Tennyson,  24,  25. 

Terrarossa,  25. 

Toledo,  Maria  de,  112. 

Torquemada,  132. 

Torres,  Antonio,  297,  319. 

Toscanelli,  Dr.  Paul,  19,  39,  42,  57,  65. 

Trent,  Council  of,  126,  127,  128,  141. 

Ursula,  St.,  240. 

Vaz,  Tristan,  35,  52. 

Vega,  Royal,  262,  266. 

Venice,  67,  78. 

Veragua,  437-514. 

Vespucius,  Americus,  232,  395-402,  564,  565. 

Vincenti,  Martin,  65, 

Waldseemiiller,  397. 
Warner,  Lord  and  Lady,  155. 
Wheaton,  224. 

Winsor,   Justin,  v.,   vi.,   20,  66,  73,  98,  99,  168,  391, 
.394- 

Xaragua,  543~45- 
Yucatan,  482,  483. 

Zarco,  Joao  Conceives,  35,  52. 
Zuniga,  139. 


THE   END. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY 
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